Cannibal of Zero
by Doomeater
Summary: This was my first story; so it starts out as a amateur work at best, rambling at worst. I can assure you it gets better. The courier, the ghoul of the Mojave, has arrived in the FOZ universe, blood and rage shall rain on this world. Let's see what happens.
1. Chapter 1

Cannibal of Zero

Fallout New Vegas and Familiar of Zero belong to their respective owners

The songs the courier will be singing is After the Fall and Trust Me from the Devil's Carnival, all rights go to the creators of the musical.

Hey everyone, it's me. I decided to do a Fallout/FOZ crossover, and since this is me, my character is going to be messed up, if the title didn't tell ya already.

I'm going to go with this as long as I have the inspiration, so updates will come and go; my other stories will be a bit up and down with updates as life is getting busy in my life at the moment.

The summoning chant will be different from the original, in order to fit the character.

This first chapter shall be mostly world building, although our "friend" here, whose name is Salem Thorn, shall make it the FOZ universe in this chapter

Without further a do enjoy

…

Chapter 1: Bloodied Chains

3rd person POV

The Courier, the lunatic of the Mojave, the butcher of the Legion, the Scourge of the NCR and the Ghoul of Vegas; this man had appeared from somewhere near the small town of Goodsprings, saving the town from Powder Gangers. He then proceeded to kill everyone left alive in town. He staggered into Nipton, killing everyone in the town, singing to himself the entire time "Let us piss from the vine, Let us claw in the mud, Let us swing with both fists, As we writhe in the blood. Let us walk on stained glass, Sinners one, sinners all. It's always prettiest after the fall." He was a terrifying figure, freakishly tall at seven feet tall, but he has a skeletal visage, with sunken eyes and sharpened teeth. He was seen in Primm, helping the NCR clear out the Powder Gangers, only to kill the troopers when they arrived at the prison. He traveled to Nipton, and watched in wonder at the wickedness of the Legion, in his eyes, it was art. But he couldn't let the Legion have all the fun, so he strung them up on their own crosses and set them ablaze laughing and singing "How many kisses do you need? One for your tummy One for your cheek One for the devil inside . . .Of . . . me" finding that he liked the leader of the Legion's forces the town, or rather his hat, he cut his head off, hat and all, that was his first trophy, a skull wearing a wolf head. Wearing a macabre mix of grisly trophies and combat armor, he marched into Boulder City, hearing that some Great Khans had information about the name that shot him. He stopped the conflict alright; he shot, stabbed and ate his way through the NCR troopers to get to his goal. Finally, he made it to new Vegas, which he promptly took over, cleansing it of NCR presence, and striking a bargain with the families (minus the Tops, everyone, and everything was killed when he found Benny, adding his suit and gun to his trophies): for Gomorrah, after he wins the battle for Hoover Dam, they get first picks for new stock of… "Employees". For Ultra Luxe, which he brought over to cannibalism, they shall spread their operations to all over the Mojave, bringing luxury to all who can afford it. When the battle of Hoover Dam arrived, the Courier happily charged into battle, claiming many more trophies. There, he met the Legate Lanius in battle, eventually toppling the Monster of East. The ghoul of Vegas, named himself Salem Thorn, his first name was named after the horror that took place at the village, and his last name was chosen because he will always be a pain the side of the NCR and whoever enters his domain. After his naming, General Oliver, leader of the NCR's attack on the Dam, demanded that the Ghoul of Vegas leave the Mojave forever, never to return. To which, Salem laughed saying "you can't kill evil, my dear, poor general, you can't kill me" then he proceeded to massacre every single ranger, saving General Oliver for last; making him his battle standard; well, what was left of him. Only his upper torso was left, it made a most gruesome flag.

Now, Salem Thorn rules all of the Mojave, an empire more brutal than the Legion ever was, but his citizens were safer than ever before. His enemies were kept alive, no unnecessary deaths on the battle field; he forced them to fight on the front lines, as cannon fodder. He himself is hardly seen now, leaving Yes Man, the one being that he respects in charge of the day to day affairs, while he leads the troops on raids of the remnants of Legion and NCR outposts.

That was 50 years ago, due to his actions at Big Mt. his cybernetics have kept him young and strong, still able to keep his promise to General Oliver, that he is the Mojave's face of evil, so will be here for a long, long time. His reign is long and fruitful, at least to those who earned his favor, his enemies were dispatched in a brutal manner, seeing as fighting was almost non-existent.

Now, our brutal warlord is travelling back to Goodsprings, to reflect, to plan, and to sleep. Salem skipped around the ruined town, humming and laughing, his skull helmet rattling and shaking, when someone asked him why he still had the skull helmet, he replied with "so I'm always smiling, of course". He continued on his journey, he heard a voice, not that this was uncommon, he always heard them, every day or so, he would hear the voices of Benny, Caesar, people who had crossed his path, now they are having dirt naps. But this one was different, it was a little girl's voice, this one was new. When he concentrated, he could just make out the words. _"My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my wrathful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my rage and appear!"_

Before our sadistic warlord could even wonder what that meant, a green portal opened up, pulling him in, and blackness overtook him.

…

Louise POV

BOOM!

My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La _Vallière, third daughter of the esteemed Vallière family, and I had failed, again. This time however, my honor and family name was on the line. It was the Springtime Summoning Ritual, and I am the last student, so naturally everyone was looking at me, and I was failing._

 _Gathering all of my rage, all my shame, and my hate for the mocking students behind me; I screamed out my chant:_

"My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my wrathful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my rage and appear!"

The students muttered amongst themselves

"What kind of chant was that?"

"Zero's going to fail again"

But all of their mocking and questions was silenced by a humongous BOOM!

A wave of dust, smoke and the stench of blood and offal filled the room.

"Oh Founder!"

"What the hell Zero!?"

Some of the students puked, others passed out, and some even ran from the room.

In all the chaos, no one noticed that I was smiling, I had done it! I wasn't a zero!

I couldn't hold it in anymore, and laughed, harder than I had in years.

When I stopped laughing, I could hear laughter, not mine, nor was it anyone I had ever heard before, it sounded, deep, rich and strong, but it sounded old, like it had seen and done horrible things.

I barely heard Mr. Colbert order Tabitha to clear the smoke, I was staring at the horrific being in front of me: freakishly tall, a skull on his head, many severed hands, a entire upper human torso (skeleton, thank the Founder) on his back. Strange armor, black as night, and it was covered in scars and dried blood a bloody sack hung over his back, filled with meat of some kind, the question was quickly answered by the man pulling a limb that vaguely resembled a human arm (super mutant) and munched down with relish.

The man then marched forward, singing to himself in a strange language, he stopped right in front of me, clacked his heels together and saluted me a mockery of a soldier's salute. He laughed, throwing his arms in the air, a large, jagged knife in hand, and began to sing again in whatever commoner language he dares stain a nobles ears with.

Mr. Colbert, seeing the problem waving his staff to cast a translation spell, but paused as he saw his eyes, well, the one eye that remained, the other was long gone, the other was dark, and full of a dark mirth, one that only the depraved madmen could ever have in their eyes, this was the eye of a psychopath. Then he casted the spell.

…

Salem POV

When I can see again my first thought was _"that's it, I'm in Hell"_ everything was so damn nice, green trees, strange fuzzy creatures, and a giant lizard with wings "ok, that's awesome!" I said to myself, and then I started to sing to myself again: "Let us piss from the vine, Let us claw in the mud, Let us swing with both fists, As we writhe in the blood. Let us walk on stained glass, Sinners one, sinners all. It's always prettiest after the fall." I stopped when I saw the little girl in front of me, she was looking at me like the poor general Oliver did, full of self importance and pride. Deciding to indulge the pipsqueak's pride, I saluted to her, mockingly of course. Seeing no reaction I frowned in annoyance, these people are more deadpanned then those Brotherhood of Steel blokes; at least they had the decency to fight you, or look you in the eye when you ended their little lives. I saw a old geezer wave some kind of stick in the air, and suddenly I could understand them! "Ok, what the bleeding Hell was that" I asked the children-wait, children!? The kids and the geezer looked alarmed at my language, "what, oh, you're not Puritans are ya? Ah, never mind"

Finally, someone spoke up, the old guy actually, "you were summoned to be Ms. _Vallière's familiar. I looked at him confused "what the heck's a familiar ya pompous windbag? It had better not be a slave, because I HATE slavers, the last ones I ran into, I impaled on spikes burned em alive"_

 _Everyone looked at me shocked, "what? Ya never heard of a joke before? Jeez tough crowd" I mutter, normally I would've killed em all by now, but, I believe in a good first impression, and I don't kill kids, I'm evil, not a monster._

 _Anyways, the pink haired pipsqueak and the old geezer was having a good old argument, something involving me, but I was too busy looking at a dark skinned beauty, her red hair caught my eye, that and her large…eyes, right, defiantly that. Then I heard the little girl in front of me yell at me to kneel, again normally they'd all be dead by now, but killing kids seemed like something a raider would do, chem crazed weirdos. I did as she asked and kneeled, then, she kissed me on the bleeding lips! I was about to carve her up like a thanksgiving gecko, but a blinding, burning pain roared through my hand; it reminded me of the one time I shot with a laser rifle, just worse somehow. "ah shi…" was all I could manage before I collapsed on the ground._

 _…._

 _There we go ladies, gentlemen, and others, that was the first chapter in a series that'll be getting started soon._

 _Any love, hate, feedback or anything in between is always accepted happily, and as always, stay awesome, stay classy and have a lovely day._


	2. Bloody Rage

Ch.2 Bloody rage

"Kill em!"- Regular talking

" _Kill em!"_ Thinking

" **Kill em all!"** singing

The songs that Salem sings are "In the Dark of the Night" from the film Anastasia. And "Another Way Out" by Hollywood Undead. All rights go to the creators.

With Grade 12 starting in a week and a bit, I will not be able to upload nearly as much, it'll be like 2 weeks if I'm lucky instead of my pace now, I'm sorry for the trouble that'll cost all of you. But, here ya go, Enjoy!

Louise POV

I strode through the halls, towards the infirmary where my stupid familiar was being held. After he had collapsed, I took of his disgusting mask, and gasped at I saw: a scarred face, burned beyond belief, with a smile forever carved into his cheeks. His skeletal visage gave to appearance of always being hungry; his sharpened teeth said that he had to eat many unsavory things to survive. _"Wherever he had come from, he was a savage, hardly fit for a noble"_ I think to myself, scowling. When I get to the infirmary, I see that the man is already up, eating the strange meat from the bag that he was carrying. He stops what he is doing, seeing me looking. "Didn't your mum ever tell ya it's rude to stare?" he smirks at me. Stuttering, I step back as he laughs at my reaction, "I'm kidding, jeez, you people need to get the logs outta yer arses and learn to smile a bit, you're all too serious." He gets out of bed, without his ghoulish helmet, he somehow looks even more terrifying. His horribly scarred face, along with his skeletal appearance gives the man a look of a lifetime of war. "I do believe that we never got acquainted miss…?" I shot him a look of disgust "you dare talk to a noble like this you filthy commoner!? My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La _Vallière! And you will show me respect!" that response was not the best choice_

…

Salem POV

I look down at the little self entitled prick standing before me, her claim to being high above the common man disgusted me, and it showed. Since I had no mask, my emotions were extremely obvious. "You dare call yourself better than me!? I've fought in hundreds of battles, I've killed thousands, I've survived things that look like something that crawled outta Hell itself! So excuse me, ya little pompus gobshiting windbag, but I get a wee bit pissed off if you, a child think that you can talk to me, a king, like a lowly raider!" The girl looked at me, dumbfounded, "you're a king!?" I grin at her, with a flourish and a bow, a proclaim my name "king Salem Thorn, lord of New Vegas, Scourge of the NCR, Butcher of the Legion, and Ghoul of the Mojave." She runs out of the room, a look of – was that a mix shame and fear on her face? With nothing else to do, I strode out of the infirmary; ready to explore whatever new world awaits me.

I walked through the halls, humming happily, then suddenly I busted into song "In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning. And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be -It scared me out of my wits -A corpse falling to bits! Then I opened my eyes And the nightmare was...me!" laughing wickedly, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I bumped into a pretty young lady, wearing a very bizarre outfit. The first thing that popped into my brain was _"oh no, it's a runaway from Gomorrah",_ then I noticed that she didn't have the signs of being one of the "night workers" of Vegas; no needle trails, no dark rings under eyes, no bruises or any damage of the sort. Taking a closer look at the pretty little thing in front me I noticed that she a necklace of a symbol from a very familiar faction from back home: the Legion

"How did you get that!? The Legion would never allow a woman to fight for them! Did you kill a legionary to get this!? Wonderful! Finally a person with a backbone in this strange place! Salem Thorn, lord of New Vegas, at your service my lady" I salute in the style of the Brotherhood knights.

Siesta POV

I'm walking down the hallway, daydreaming about a handsome prince to sweep me off my feet, when I bump into a horrifying man, he stares at me for a few seconds, then starts yelling at me about the Legion, whatever that was, than laughing, proclaiming himself to be a king of a land called Vegas.

I stare at him in shock; Vegas was a story my grandfather had told me about, a city of lights and greed, ruled by a cannibalistic madman named Salem Thorn. I scramble back, feeling very, very afraid at the maniac in front of me. "Oh, I'm guessing you know who I am eh? Well, I'm afraid I can't let you go blabbing to the people running around who I am, so you have a choice: either you be quiet, and I'll make it worth your while; or, I'll be having me a midnight snack, later a painting of some kind, I'm sure you'll make a lovely portrait". I try to run, but I feel something slam into my head, and that's the last thing I feel before everything goes black.

…

I awake on something cold, and I see my abductor approach me, smiling happily. "My dear, you're awake, I had sincerely hoped that you would. It would be a shame if you didn't get to see my artwork"

I rise off the table to find something horrifying: my arms were gone! Replaced with metal, and I have an iron color around my neck. My face was made perfect, no blemishes of any kind, it's a face of an angel. My mind feels like somethings gone, like I had lost something. "it's for insurance you see, I can't have you running around, blabbing to the world about my little experiment, so, in a sense, your life is mine. The metal arms are to defend yourself, I've heard rumors that a pompous prick is coming to get some help for his mansion, but from what I've heard, he's a perverted bastard. I have made you look perfect my dear. Not that you weren't already, but I made a few minor changes, now you look perfect. As for your mind, well, you're more like me now, isn't that great! Normally, I'd kill you, painfully for trying to run, but I feel like you're special, like you have so much more to offer than a mere maid position to some upstart brats. Please, think about it, if you ever want more out of life, come and talk to me. "

I stare at my new limbs, and my mind lurches at the thought of my new life. "You can't do this! People will be looking for me!" I scream. He laughs at me explaining the situation: "my dear, I know people will look for you if you are gone too long, that's why we are going back right now", then he proceeds to knock me out again.

…

Salem POV

Everything had gone perfectly! The girl is mine; anyone who tries to posses her will be dealt with, severely. The cybernetic limbs I grafted on to her I got after raiding a Brotherhood base, and it is full of fun little toys to burn, maim and kill. I notice that it is almost dawn, so I proceed back to my "master's" room, easily picking the lock. Then I wake her, which seemed to be a back idea, as she quickly starts screaming at me, calling me things that actually made me pause. She had quite the vocabulary! Some of those curses and insults would make a raider blush.

Finally, she calms down, saying that we had to go the dining hall, as we enter the hall, I can't help but gasp at the sight before me. "The Ultra Luxe would kill to get this" I say to myself, my master whirls around demanding what I said "nothing milady" I smirk. As she is about to sit down, I remember my time at the Ultra Luxe, " _It's better to be polite before you kill someone, after all, we're not animals"_ I smile. Remembering Mortimer, the leader of the cannibals in New Vegas, taking his advice, I pull out Louise's chair and she looks surprised at my manners. I shrug, and was about to go outside when I hear a loud crash. Spinning around, I see my little experiment being yelled at by some blond prick, with two crying women in different parts of the room. Realizing what had happened, I step next to Siesta, and glare at the blond fool before me. "You! Familiar! You dare insult my honor and the honor of these two lovely ladies!" at these, I begin to chuckle, replying with "you, poor, poor fool, you think you're something amazing, that you're God's gift to women everywhere eh? You're nothing; I've killed people for less than what you have done, and now, you've hurt little Siesta here: I cannot let this stand."

The blond Casanova smiled with a sickening smile, full of pride and arrogance "very well, you will fight me at Vestri court in ten minutes! Do not be late!" and with that, the blond fop marches out of the hall, followed by most of the children.

That's when I had something far more worrying to deal with: "FAMILIAR!" 

…

After Louise yelling at me for a good five minutes, she storms off, going towards Vestri Court (whatever that is), I decide to have a bit of fun first, a take out a shot of whiskey and a round of a mix of Psycho, Jet, and Turbo. The effects were instant, and with that I march towards my fight.

… Author's note: I do NOT suggest that drugs are a good thing, but in Fallout, Chems are ok back to the story...

…

3rd Person POV

Osmond was having a good day, paperwork kept him busy, when he wasn't chasing the skirt of Miss Longueville _"it hurts, but it's worth every moment"_ he thinks to himself happily. His happiness is interrupted by Mr. Colbert, " ! There is a fight in Vestri Court! Guiche challenged Ms. _Vallière's familiar, should I stop it?"_

 _"No, I want to see where this goes"_

 _"But sir!"_

 _"No! That is final!"_

 _After Mr. Colbert left the room, Miss Longueville asked him if him if Osmond is making the right choice "he doesn't look all that stable, if anything, he'll probably kill Guiche."_

 _"I hope I am making the right choice, but we have to see what Ms. Vallière's familiar can do, if he really is Gandalfr we must know. Now all we can do is wait."_

 _…_

 _Vestri court was packed, full of students and servants alike, both wondering what this strange man could do, he had no magical powers, so most were thinking that this would be a slaughter._

 _Guiche was grandstanding, he had been for a while actually, but everyone quieted down when the "zero's" familiar staggered in, drunk and under the influence of something else. He seemed to shake it off after he made it to his spot "Now, let the fun begin" he muttered to himself", if only everyone else knew what was about to happen._

 _…_

 _Salem POV_

 _Feeling my cocktail wear off, I walk over to my little spot in this make shift arena. The blond fop starts grandstanding again, calling me a coward, drunk and a fool for thinking that I could beat him; and honestly, it reminded me way too much of Benny, the bastard had a similar idea that talking your way out of a problem was the way to go. "sshhh, shut your little mouth and listen up" I speak softly, very friendly, and if anyone knew me, they'd know that they are already dead. "Are we gonna fight, little boy? Well?" he looks shocked and appalled at my apparent lack of decorum._

 _While he stares at me in disgust, I materialize my armor thanks to my handy dandy PipBoy: Van Graff combat armor, covered in my trophies, severed hands, heads, an entire heart, thanks to a super mutant, imbedded right in the middle of the chest plate. Caesar's skull, melded into the Legate's helmet for my helm, and what's left of General Oliver on my back as a standard, which I firmly plant into the ground in front of me. At my side is a combat knife, and Maria; Benny's pistol, the same pistol he shot me in the head with. Over my shoulder is my machete Liberator, which I had taken from a high ranking Legion officer and in my hands, is my trusty chainsaw, reinforced to be unbreakable, covered in dried blood and with gore splashed over the spikes, it is nightmare fuel._

 _Everyone looks at me in horror, some of the more squeamish of students running out of room. The blond boy looks at me in fear and disgust. "You savage, you barbarian! You will know your place! My name is Guiche_ de Gramont! My runic name is the Bronze! You will be facing my bronze Valkyries!"

At this, I spit through the gaps in the skull "you don't even have to balls to fight me yourself, how you managed to score two chicks at once is beyond me boy. Allow me to show you why I am king back home" at this all of the students started whispering like crazy, I don't know why.

Then, the Valkyries charged! With swords and spears they lunged at me, but I parry with my chainsaw, cleaving through the weak metal, I feel one behind me, and I somehow jump over it and slash it to pieces.

" _What's going on? I feel strong, real strong, like I have an unending supply of Psycho being pumped straight into my heart!"_ "This is amazing! Come on boy, fight me! Hit me! HIT ME!" I see a weird light coming from my hand, looking down; I see my hand glowing from strange runes _"how do I know what runes are?"_ I think to myself.

Not really caring, I march forward singing "You better run, better run, better run, yeah I'm coming after you When you're sleeping at night, yeah there's nothing you can do There's no place you can hide cause I'm coming after you"

The boy throws more and more bronze warriors at me, looking terrified at both my appearance and my song. Too bad it's not doing much damage to me thanks to the layer of carrion and my amour. My chainsaw and combat knife take care of rest of the so called "Valkyries" like they're the Kings of Freeside; pathetic. After finishing off the boy's machines, I walk over to the boy, kneel next to him and whisper "you've lost, your life is forfeit, you belong to me now, ain't that a kick in the head?" with that, I impale his shoulder with my machete, pinning him to the ground, grabbing my battle standard I plant it into his leg, breaking it. As he screams in pain, my "master" runs at me "FAMILIAR! What are you doing!? Stop right now!" I turn to her, with a sick grin on my face, "master, you need this, the shits here don't respect you, and they'd rather laugh at your face and spit on your foot. This is a message that they need to hear" then I tear open the blond fools chest, play xylophone on his ribs, and then I eat his heart. I proceed to throw what remains into my large meat bag, dab some of the blood on my skull helm, then a walk off, singing and talking to the voices in my head.

…

3rd Person POV

Osmond, Mr. Colbert and Miss Longueville stared at horror at the display of sheer brutality they had just witnessed. The teachers kept watching him thanks to magic, seeing him actually cook the corpse of his victim, than devour it. He then sees him grasp his head it pain, and start shouting at the sky, the trees, yelling about a girl, her name was Jane _"Jane, that's an odd name"_ Osmond mused. They group saw the man start crying out, saying that he'll make them pay, that he'll avenge her. And that nothing will stop their dream from becoming a reality. Before anyone could even think about what was going on, the man stood up, howling at the sky, grabbing his knife and slashing his chest, causing blood to spray into the air "My name is Salem Thorn, and I swear; I will achieve my goal! For you Jane! For me! We were rulers once! And here, we shall be again!"

…

WOOP! Chapter down! And before y'all start asking who Jane is, I'll explain in the next chapter, when the master's have to get to know their familiars better, ya'll have to be patient.

Any feedback, likes, hate, anything's good

And as always, stay classy, stay awesome, and have a lovely day!


	3. A Evil Omen

An evil omen

The song is Hurt by Johnny Cash. If you don't know the song, look it up to get the tune.

Nothing is mine, enjoy!

Louise POV

"Master, you need this, the shits here don't respect you, and they'd rather laugh at your face and spit on your foot. This is a message that they need to hear" with those words, my familiar kills Guiche in the most brutal way possible, he than eats him! I gasp in pure horror as my familiar consumes the blond two timer; he then walks away, laughing to himself.

I run out of the room, crying in fear, _"no,no,no,no! My mother will shame me! I'll be thrown in jail for having a madman for a familiar!"_ I run into my room and lock the door, never the leave until the morning.

…

The next morning, I realize that today is the day that we have to get to know our familiars better. I stride outside, towards the dining hall to try to steel my nerves before I have to face Salem again. As soon as I enter the room, everyone quiets down, giving me fearful looks and hateful glances. Both Katie and Montmorency both ran up to me and started yelling at me, crying and wailing, knowing that if they actually hurt me, Salem might decide to pay them a visit. After my meal, if you can call my quickly shoveling food into my mouth in order to get out as quickly as possible a meal; I walk over to where the familiars eat. I see my familiar eating from his bag again, as well as drinking from a glass bottle with words written in a language I don't understand printed on the front, I stare at it, not understanding what it is when a voice shocks me out of my thoughts

"Whiskey"

"What?" I ask, confused

"What I'm drinking, it's called whiskey, a drink from back home"

As I process this, I notice that he packs everything up, and is simply staring at me "well, are going to get going or are we gonna be simply looking at each other all day?"

And with that, we walk out to the field, in order to have our chat. As we sit down, I notice that Tabitha and Kirche of all people approach us. Salem rises and asks in a loud voice "whadda want?" the pair back up, with Kirche saying "we want to know you better, is that so wrong?" while saying this, she shifts her body language to suggestive, much to everyone else's dismay. Salem laughs a little, saying "my dear, I am way too old for you, and besides, I only had eyes for one woman, and she has long passed from the mortal coil" with that, he looks down sadly.

We look at each other, the thoughts that this man could have a woman in his life and that he had actual emotions was surprising to all of us.

He looks at us, a smirk on his face, "I guess y'all wanna know my story eh? Well let's start at the first thing I remember…"

…

Salem POV

"From where you're kneeling it must seem like an 18-karat run of bad luck.  
Truth is...the game was rigged from the start."

That's the first words I remember, then he shoots me. Seeing their confusion, I explain what guns are where I come from, I then show them Maria "this was the gun he shot me with, after I found him again, I killed him, now this gun is mine" I continue my story, telling them most of my story (the parts that wouldn't raise that much of a alarm), and the world I live in. Their faces changed from horror, disgust, terror and sadness. Finally, I got to the aftermath of the Dam.

"I had built an empire built on the strength of arm and the sweat of my brow. The rabble around me bowed before me, for fear of my wrath, no one would touch me. But then, I heard news; another empire, from the Capital Wasteland, a leader had arisen, one built from slaves, metal and fire. The leader wanted an alliance with the only other power within reasonable distance: me.

So I went to where the leader wanted to meet, what I saw was terrifying, but it was amazing: vast armies roaming around the ruins, some clad in official amour of the Brotherhood of Steel, some in the garbs of raiders, and many others. Many slaves walked around too, doing manual labor, it was a land of industry and power. Then, I met the leader; she was gorgeous; with hair red as blood, lips to match, pale skin, and scars to prove her strength in battle. She had several nicknames; including "the Lone Wanderer", the "Monster of The Capital"; and some even went as far to call her the "Devil's Wife". But her real name was Jane; she had a reputation for using her Shishkebab; a flaming sword in battle and having mood swings that end in many people dead. She was my dream girl, and together we tore through our respective territories; trading supplies, slaves and weapons back and forth. Our alliance was the most powerful thing in the country, and even though we were terrible people to the outside world; we were gentle and kind to each other. And for the next three decades, everything was perfect, that was until the remains of resistance that we had somehow missed began to attack our settlements. Soon, we marched to meet them in battle. Things were going well, and we had almost routed the enemy army; if you could call the rabble a actual army; when Jane was- she was-

I couldn't continue, I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and took a swig, and started again

"Jane was wounded; a coward stabbed her in back. Before she collapsed, she managed to kill the man; breaking his arms and legs, then shooting him in the head. But the wound was too much, and she bled out in my arms. Her last words to me were "continue our work, rule this country, and make them pay". And, that day, they did pay; my army slaughtered half of the resistance, while I killed the rest, down to a man. I saved the leader for last however; one Edgar Hardin. I tied him to the monorail, and ran him over, again, and again, until he was dead. That day, something broke, that day; I became the man you see today."

…

3rd Person POV

Unknown to our heroes, Osmond, Mr. Colbert and Miss Longueville were listening, thanks to magic. They heard the entire story, from his beginnings as a courier; to his empire and his loss. Each one of the adults there had different opinions; Osmond thought that he was extremely dangerous, but since he was _Gandalfr, they couldn't really do anything about it. Mr Colbert saw him as a man who is mentally shattered, but he will be useful in the coming storm, and he will be more than capable to protect ms. Vallière. While Miss_ Longueville saw a way out, a way out of her servitude, a way to get her noble title back.

Now, they watch, wait and wonder about what to do with this maniac.

…

Salem POV

I sit there, watching the kids leave, looks of horror and fear on their faces. I told them everything that wouldn't raise that much of an alarm; it'll wreck any chances of me ruling this place. Walking away, I hear a female student talk about some kind of festival or tournament starting tomorrow, with this in mind, I go find somewhere to rest and prepare.

…

The competition that she was talking about was apparently a huge deal around here; every student's familiar does a routine of some kind, and the princess or someone like that shows up. Personally I think it's a huge waste of time, but, I did what my "master" commands; for now at least. Instead of practicing, I was sleeping, but instead of the sweet peace I craved, what I got was torment.

…

Inside Salem's head

I "wake" up in a strange place, nothing but bones, blood and shadows as far as the eye could see. "Nice place" I commented to myself.

"Glad you like it, cause' you're going to be here a while" a very familiar voice says; I've heard it since I was shot in the head.

I freeze, "no" "NO!" I screamed. "I killed you! You're dead!"

A chilling laugh echoes through the wastes, and a fancy suited man, holding my gun, Maria in his right hand walks up to me.

"Ring-a ding-ding baby"

I stare in horror at the being in front of me. It was Benny! I killed that smart ass with my chainsaw, carved him up, he's dead.

Before I could even process that I'm seeing I hear another familiar voice

"Well, well, well, look who it is; the profligate who killed me."

I whirl around to see Caesar, well, what was left of him: he had no arms, only one leg and his eyes had been carved out. I remembered that day well, it was a fun day, ending with him dead.

Then, thousands upon thousands of shambling shapes appeared at the base of the hill of death.

"What the hell is going on!? Who are they!?" I yell.

"Oh, them?"

Benny says off-handly, "they are all the people you've killed"

I look down in horror at all of them, some I remembered, General Oliver, Veronica, Cass, the King, Mr. House, and many, many more.

They poured over me, stabbing, punching, kicking, and the last thing before all fades to black is a gun being pointed at my chest. *BANG!*

…

Salem POV

"AAAAAAAGGGHHHHH"

Bellowing, I leap up, whirling around, my weapons drawn. Feeling pain I look down in horror to see an actual bullet wound in my chest, leaking blood. Slamming a Stimpack into my chest, I grunt as the wound heals, the bullet popping out onto the ground.

Sure I've had visions of people I've killed, waiting in Hell for me; but having actual wounds when I wake up is new. "What could have caused this?"

I mutter to myself. Suddenly, it makes sense, "The boy! He had magic! It pumped through his heart; his blood, it brings me pain, but it will never rule me! I am Salem Thorn, Lord of Vegas! And no one will command me! Not Mr. House, not the NCR, and not my own victims!"

After my promise to myself, I stroll around campus, looking forward to this little "festival"

.…

The crowd that had gathered was impressive to say the least; nobles and the high brass sat on gold thrones, while everyone else had benches to sit on.

I saw a pretty lady on the most impressive throne of them all, by the crowd's reaction, this was the Princess I had heard Louise fawn over. As I began my approach to where I was to wait, a flash of pain rips through me; I collapse, the pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. It felt like fire, burning through my entire body, promising an eternity of suffering and agony. Through my pain I see them; black forms float around my shuddering body, shadowy things that look like skeletons wearing cloaks only with a nearly transparent face. All of them had wounds; ghostly cuts, bullet wounds, burns, and broken bones.

"What the hell is this?! You dare try to kill me? ME!"

I yell, drawing my chainsaw, the ghosts, I guess that's what they were, drew closer, rage and pain plain on their faces.

" _We are your victims that you have claimed, our souls shall haunt you, we will chase you until you finally die, and the Devil claims your soul!"_

The shades rasp this to me, my mind lurches at the things before me. Sure, I've had similar nightmares, but at least I could wake up from those. When I look up, the apparitions have vanished; leaving me alone, with only my feeling of unease to remind me of their presence.

And with that, I march next to Louise and wait for my turn to perform for these jackals's amusement. Not much of interest happened; the only thing cool was the blue haired girl doing air routines with her dragon. When I heard my name, I grinned, "Let the show begin" I muttered and stepped onto the stage.

…

Louise POV

I was nervous, thousands of nobles, as well as the Princess was here, and my insane murderous familiar was going to make our impression on them! "Founder, please let Salem not do anything foolish" I pray to myself. As Salem stands up on the stage, I feel a chill, suddenly; the area becomes much colder, and I could have sworn I heard whispers in my head, laughing, screaming and chanting. I look around, trying not to freak out. _"Don't be silly, evil spirits don't exist, right?"_ I franticly think to myself.

Then, I hear Salem speak, his deep voice easily carrying through the arena

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Salem Thorn; and today I'll be giving you all a taste of both my homeland and my own power."

At this, whispers from the audience began to fly around, asking what he meant. A few angry whispers floated around, accusing Salem of killing the heir of the Gramont family.

"And to those who care, I did kill Guichede Gramont; he was a sniveling two timing swine who didn't even taste good when I devoured him."

At this, the crowd began shouting in rage.

"ENOUGH!" he roars, and to those closer to him; you could see fire dance in his eyes and his fists were clenched.

"Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and that technicolor rainbow in between, today, I will be showing you just what kind of powers I have at my disposal."

With that, he pulls out a strange looking contraption; long, bulky, made out of a strange metal, it didn't look like anything I had seen before.

"This is my missile launcher, Annabelle, a weapon from my home. This is not the most powerful weapon we ever made back home, but it is still extremely powerful. And today, since I have enough ammo to last me several lifetimes, I'll be showing ya what it does."

He told the crowd to move out of the stands, and get far away, because the blast radius was extremely far.

"Fire in the hole!" he bellows.

 **BOOM!**

The explosion was deafening, I didn't hear anything at first because it was so loud. It created a humongous crater, sending dirt and chunks of earth everywhere. Over the silence of the audience, along with the deafening lack of sound brought on by the explosion, I could hear Salem laughing like a madman, hooting and hollering.

"And THAT is why you don't FUCK with the king of New Vegas baby! HAHAHAA!

He reveled in our looks of shock and disbelief at the sheer devastation that one, insane man can unleash upon the world.

"Founder preserve us…" I whisper to myself.

…

Salem POV

That. Was. Epic!

No words could cover how awesome their faces were when they saw Annabelle go to work. I can't wait to do that again!

But, my reveling was interrupted quite rudely by a giant…thing. It looked like a mountain had gotten pissed off and decided to stomp us.

"This is gonna be fun!" I bellow

Charging towards the massive thing, I see a figure on top of it; shouting at the crowd

"Get out of the way, you pompous windbags!"

Seeing my chance, I load a missile into Annabelle and launch it at the construct's leg. It connected, resulting in a large portion falling off, only for it to fly back on.

"Damn it! That's cheating"

Blasted magic, making everything unfair, but hey, at least no one else is either stupid or crazy enough to get close to this thing besides me.

"FAMILIAR! Get away from the golem!"

God damn it!

"Louise, get the hell away from this thing! It'll squish ya and I do NOT want to have ta tell your folks why I had to scrape your body off the foot of a walking mountain!"

But, either she's about as crazy as me, or she's the dumbest person on the planet; she stays, launching explosive blasts that didn't do much except annoy the person on top of the golem.

"Stop it! You're starting to piss me off!"

The person on top of the golem roars, the voice is strange, it's warped and distorted, like someone's talking through a very damaged helmet of power armor.

But before I could say anything, I noticed the walking ton of rock was about to smash its foot down on Louise. I don't know if I'm going soft, if I had a bit too much to drink, or if I completely lost it, but I knew I had to save Louise.

"Gob-shiteing, thrice damned hob knocker!"

I yelled, before pushing Louise out of the way.

" _This is how it ends huh? I survive being shot in the head, buried alive, a god damned war. And I die from being stepped on. Ain't that a kick in the head"_ and almost on cue, the last thing I hear before blacking out is "ain't that a kick in the head" by Dean Martin.

…

Louise POV

"Gob-shiteing, thrice damned hob knocker!"

That's all I hear from Salem before he shoves me out of the way and gets stomped on by Fouquet's golem.

I stare in horror, unbelieving that Salem might be hurt, or worse. Fouquet runs off, her golem collapsing in on itself.

"Come on, come one, Founder, please let him be all right."

I mutter to myself.

It took a few minutes, but they found Salem under the rubble, bloodied, unconscious, but alive. The water mages sent him to the infirmary; they'll find me when he wakes up. I go back to my room and begin to sleep, but what I find is horrifying, and I begin to understand just what kind of monster I have brought to this world.

…

Memory Sequence from Louise POV

I see a man kneeling on the ground, his hands bound behind his back. Three men stood before him, two looking like filthy brigands or thieves while the other was dressed in a very fancy and expensive looking suit. The man on the ground spoke in a tone that sounded like a mix of fear and confusion

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

His voice, despite being afraid, had a deep tone to it. With a shock, I realize that it's Salem, before everything happened to him.

"What we want is simple, this little chip."

The man flips a sliver chip into air, catching it on his open palm.

"Well, you have it, will you let me go now?"

Salem asks, a look of fear on his face. Looking closer I notice that his face is completely fine; none of the burns or scars that are there in the present day were on his face. That meant that all his wounds, his pain; everything started after this one fateful moment.

"No" the man in the suit said, a look of detestation all over his face.

"From where you're kneeling it must seem like an 18-karat run of bad luck.  
Truth is...the game was rigged from the start."

And with that, he raised his gun, and shot Salem in the left eye, going straight to the brain.

I gasped at the sheer power the small weapon possessed. Here in Halkeginia guns are large cumbersome things that take ages to load and actually fire. But in whatever land Salem comes from, they're what makes men kings and set the rest below.

Salem crumples backwards, chunks of bone and brain flying out. Pieces of his left eye were splattered on his cheek, and blood was everywhere. His one remaining eye stared at the man with pure hatred and the promise of vengeance. But what unsettled both myself and the men there was that Salem actually whispered something to the men through the pain and the blood that was pooling in his throat, making him gurgle out his words.

"I'll see you soon, ya bastards; I'll find you, and nowhere you hide, no matter how many goons you throw at me, I'll kill you."

And with that, he fell silent. The brigands looked each other with terror; the only thing keeping them from running away was the man with the gun.

"What are you waiting for? Bury him"

The two men grabbed two shovels and began shoveling dirt on top of the still warm body. In their fear, they rushed through the deed, leaving parts of Salem's body exposed to the air.

The men rushed off. Eager to leave the graveyard on the hill; and I watched in morbid fascination as an entire week passed as he remained buried, the extreme heat baked the head wound that was exposed, bringing rot and infection to the already gruesome injury. Insects and scavengers picked at the wound, eating pieces of flesh and brain matter; causing irreversible damage to Salem. I wanted to do something, anything to stop this; but this was a memory, I couldn't intervene and fix this.

Suddenly, I see a large metal golem of some kind wheel up to Salem's resting place. It was a strange thing; with large hollow arms that ended in claws, a single wheel instead of legs and large shoulder pauldrons. But the strangest thing was the large screen in the center of his body; it had a man's face on it, with an odd hat and a small thing sticking out of his mouth that burned and smoldered.

"Oh dear, looks like I'm late, darn rascals. Come on partner, I'll get y'all fixed up."

The large golem speaks in a foreign drawl that I've never heard before. And as he's reaching for Salem, I thought I saw a small smile appear on his broken face. Then all fades to black.

…

Louise POV

I wake up with a start, sweating and heart pounding. Hearing a knock on my door, I open it and find one of the water mages from the infirmary; Salem was up, and he'd already left. Before he left, he muttered something about getting some air.

Walking outside, I could see a figure on the highest point of the Academy just sitting there. Walking up the tower I could hear music of some kind and a voice singing. The higher up I went, the louder the voice became; until finally, I saw Salem sitting on the edge of the tower, singing. Instead of songs of murder or horror, he was singing a sad song, full of pain and hurt. I didn't want to interrupt, so I just listened and watched the scene before me.

" _I hurt myself today_

 _To see if I still feel_

 _I focus on the pain_

 _The only thing that's real_

 _The needle tears a hole_

 _The old familiar sting_

 _Try to kill it all away_

 _But I remember everything_

 _What have I become_

 _My sweetest friend_

 _Everyone I know goes away_

 _In the end_

 _And you could have it all_

 _My empire of dirt_

 _I will let you down_

 _I will make you hurt_

 _I wear this crown of thorns_

 _Upon my liar's chair_

 _Full of broken thoughts_

 _I cannot repair_

 _Beneath the stains of time_

 _The feelings disappear_

 _You are someone else_

 _I am still right here_

 _What have I become_

 _My sweetest friend_

 _Everyone I know goes away_

 _In the end_

 _And you could have it all_

 _My empire of dirt_

 _I will let you down_

 _I will make you hurt_

 _If I could start again_

 _A million miles away_

 _I would keep myself_

 _I would find a way"_

I stood there, tears on my face; the pain in his voice was raw and deep, like he was crying out to the universe, hoping for anything to answer back, Salem had his back turned to me, his helmet off, so I could see strange lines on his head. They looked like stitches of some kind, but they looked desperate, like the person who did the procedure didn't have either the skill or the time to do a good job. As I stare at them, a haunting image comes back to me; the left side of Salem's head being blown apart. The stitches were literally holding that part of his head together, and from the look of it, the pieces that were recovered didn't really fit together. I just look at the man before me, broken and miserable, full of rage and agony.

Before I could actually do anything, Salem stands up and turns to look at me.

"Well, I've told you my story, you wanna tell me yours?"

I look at him in confusion; he just went from having a heartbreaking song to wanting to know more about me?

He just kept on giving me a look of curiosity; he was looking actually interested in my story.

"Ok, if you insist. I was the youngest sister to two other sisters of the _Vallière family. Since my birth, I was always scorned and mocked for my inability to cast a spell properly. For the longest time, I was hidden away from the world in an attempt to hide the family shame from the other noble houses. Needless to say, it didn't work. I was ridiculed the moment I saw the world. This world is ruled by the ones with magic, those that don't have it are peasants."_

 _At this, Salem frowns, the expression looking strange on his torn grin face._

 _"Let me get this straight; position in this place is given by birth, not by any actual talent or skill?"_

 _I look at him, remembering that his world was a brutal one, it didn't matter who you were, if you had a weapon, you'll fight for survival._

 _"Yes, our world ours on the belief that magic was given to nobles by the Founder Brimir, our God. Anyways, my life was never difficult; I was friends with the Princess, so it wasn't all bad. But my mother got me engaged to Jean-Jacques Wardes, a lovely man-_

 _"Hold on just a minute!"_

 _Salem shot to his feet, a look of disgust on his face_

 _"Man, as in a full grown dude!? Your parents got you hitched to some random ass wanker!?"_

 _He roared; his expression one of a father finding out his daughter had been sleeping around._

 _I look at him, confused at his reaction_

 _"What? Does that not happen where you're from?"_

 _"No! Bloody Hell no! No parents worth their salt would give their kid off ta some pansy ass gob shite who's twice or even three times their own god damned age! If they're supposed ta be yer folks, then they ain't doing their jobs right! If you were my kid, you'd be able to what ya wanted in that regard."_

 _His voice lowered at the last bit, as well as his voice. He lowered himself so he was eye to eyes with me._

 _"Your folks wanted to ship you off for a sum ta line their coffers. They only care about their reputation, and in their eyes, you weren't gonna make the cut for a so called noble family"_

 _His words hit me like a ton of bricks; it hurt, but a part of me knew that he was telling the truth. He actually showed concern about me, getting ready to fight for me against what he saw was an injustice. He showed the fire and vigor like a warrior, ready to take to the field and not back down, no matter what happens. His speech continued, each part hitting the truth._

 _"Your mum probably stopped trying to train ya in magic, I be guessing, and started giving ya lessons in other duties to better please yer would be spouse? One day ya wake up and yer folks don't even look at ya like a daughter, but as a chunk 'o' meat or a piece of property to be sold off to the family with the deepest pockets."_

 _His words shatter me, I want to deny it all, but a small part of me agrees with him. My life was over the second I couldn't cast a spell. My parents would have cast me off to be somebody else's problem. The doubts begin to crash down on me like a tidal wave. Tears begin to stream down my face, a mix of despair and anger,_

 _"_ _My parents love me"_ _I reassure myself,_

 _"_ _Sure they wanted to send me off, but it was for my own good…right?"_

 _My frantic thoughts are interrupted by an unexpected source, Salem._

 _He wraps me in a hug, warm and fatherly; looking at his face I see a look of determination on his face._

 _"Forget that lot, tomorrow we're starting a new kind of training; weapons, explosives and close combat. You were born a noble, but starting now, you're gonna be a hellion, taking shit from nobody and dishing hell out to your enemies. How does that sound, wee lass?"_

 _I stare at my familiar, this conqueror and king from a savage land looking at me with fatherly pride that my own father never gave me._

 _"Yes, let's do that"_

 _I nod, eager to leave this life of scorn and mockery behind. My enemies will fear my name; they will rue the day they ever mocked Louise de la_ Vallière!

 _…_

 _Siesta POV_

 _Servant's quarters_

It was a long day; the nobles were being the same as always, self entitled pricks. I begin thinking back to the stories my grandfather told me of his home, the one Salem ruled. From the stories he told me, there were no nobles. No government either, save for what Salem decrees. According to my grandfather, Salem was an odd man; having large celebrations for no reason one day, then the next day he executes a large amount of prisoners of war. Many people tried to assassinate him, only to be torn apart by his chainsaw. His cannibalistic behavior was shocking to be sure, but what was more so was the fact that there was a entire group that ate human flesh publicly, and since they were under Salem's protection, no one would mess with them.

I decide to go to bed; it'll be a long day tomorrow anyway. The new arms he gave me really help with my chores, although that was never their intended purpose. Sleep comes easily to me, and all fades to black. Instead of sweet dreams however, what I get is something different entirely.

…

Siesta's Mind

Siesta POV

I find myself in a very strange place. It was beautiful, but at the same time, it was horrifying. The room I was in was well made, full of expensive looking décor and the like. There was a door leading outside, it was locked. But it was probably for the best because outside the room, that was the horrifying part. The sky was dark green, howling wind blew dark dust into the air. And then I noticed something; the building I was in was the only building left standing. Everything else was in ruins, with jagged metal and broken wood as far as the eye could see. The door opens a beautiful women walks in, wearing a red dress. She would make men stare and women grow immensely jealous; her crimson hair fell in waves behind her and her skin was porcelain white. Strapped to her back was an odd weapon; a large tank was on her back, and a sharp blade at her side. When she unsheathed it, flames sparked and consumed the blade in fire.

The women walked towards me, a grin on her beautiful face. She was raising the blade, and was about to bring it down, when she noticed my arms, looking down I saw that they were obviously metal.

"Where did you get those!?" The lady demanded a look of rage on her face.

"Salem gave them to me, please don't kill me!"

I screamed, the look in the lady's eyes looked very similar to Salem's when he was fighting Guiche de Gramont; one of anger and bloodlust.

She paused; looking at me with confusion, then understanding dawned in her eyes.

"So, he's alive, and we're in this strange world. I can't wait to see him again. You!"

She yells at me, making me flinch

"Yes milady?"

"I'll need you to deliver a message to my dear friend, tell him in blood and steel, we survive, in death, we live on. He'll know what that means."

I look at the beautiful and terrifying women before me, and it dawns on me that I no longer have a say in this matter. Either I comply with this lady, or she'll take my mind by force.

"Yes milady, but, may I ask you your name?"

She looks at me, with a small grin

"My name is Jane"

And with that, she waves her hand in the air, and all fades to black.

…

There we go ladies and gentlemen. That's chapter 3 done! I had a bunch of help from Vlad Tempest, y'all should check him out.

And as always, stay classy, stay awesome and may you all have a lovely day.


	4. Prelude to War

Chapter 4:

Prelude to war

Hey everyone; it's me Doomeater, and before I begin I just want to say, I've had a huge help from Vlad Temptest, I know I already credited him in the last chapter, but he's really helped shape this story.

I don't know what was up with the last bit with the Italics, but it won't happen again. That's everything I got. Enjoy!

…

Tristan Academy, campus outskirts.

Salem POV

Louise and I walked around the campus after our little talk; laughing and sharing about our lives, we didn't care it was night, or that some people were sleeping. Eventually, we found a corner to sleep in, not wanting to go back to her room. Daylight came too quickly, and with it came pain. My head felt like I had gone a few rounds with a Deathclaw and lost horribly.

Groaning, I stand up, my legs long since fallen asleep. After hopping around to wake them up, I notice a familiar face running towards us, a look of fear on her face.

"Mr. Salem!"

She gasps out, looking like she'd run across the entire academy to get here.

Not knowing what the hell was going on; I wait until she catches her breath to see what she has to say.

"Well? What is it?"

I ask, hoping that it was important.

"I had a-a dream, a women came to me; she said her name was Jane and that she knew you."

Everything stops, my mind racing, my heart pounding.

" _nonononononono. Don't tell me she's here to haunt me too! I did everything I could to save her. It's not my fault!"_

Almost in response, several spirits begin to swirl around at my feet, drawing me to my knees, their chattering maws waiting to devour me whole.

Suddenly, several spirits burst into flames, their eerie voice fading into oblivion. Some were impaled on large spikes that appeared out of the ground. The rest fled, back into my mind; screaming for mercy. A figure strode towards me; her crimson hair and dress floating in an ethereal wind.

I scramble back, raising Maria to the specter before me

"Stay back, I-I didn't kill you! I'm sorry, please, just leave me alone"

I beg; it was bad enough that my dead are following me around, but using the spirit of Jane was too much.

Jane keeps moving towards me, not saying a word to me.

Still trying to get some space between me and my dead love, I smash into the wall, no longer able to run.

I stare ahead, ready to face Hell dead on; I ain't giving old Satan the pleasure of making me beg for mercy.

"Go on, get it over with"

I mutter, ready to face my death, when, unexpectedly, Jane reached out her hands, holding my face in her hands.

"My, you've certainly changed haven't you?"

I look up, and see Jane's ghostly face right in front of my own, her eyes full of mirth, not bloodlust like the rest of the souls here.

"You're not gonna kill me?"

I ask, still quite confused about this whole situation, at this Jane laughs, her musical laugh echoing in my mind.

"No, I'm here to stay; that's for sure. The body I'm currently in is quite nice, but I want it for myself. The girl that you're with, she's more than most people think. I want you to take some of her blood and make your host drink it. I have a hunch, and I want to see what happens."

At this, I start grinning, happy to see Jane again, that and I'm looking forward to be working with her in the future.

And with that, she vanishes, leaving only me kneeling on the ground, and Louise and Siesta looking at me, looks of confusion on their faces.

Louise POV

I was walking around with Salem when suddenly; Siesta runs up and tells Salem about having a dream of his dead lover. Upon hearing that, he started screaming and scrambling away from us, raising his gun, a look of terror on his face. It changed from fear to a look of confusion, to settling to a scary grin, one of twisted joy. Then, after a few minutes, his head drops. Standing up, he yells at the sky, joy all over his face.

"She's here! She's not leaving me just yet!"

He hooted and hollered, jumping around and cheering.

He stopped laughing when he sees a man walking up to us, with the flag of the Gramont family on a flag waving behind him. He walks up to us, a look of disgust on his features, walking up to Salem, he looks at him, a mix of fear and hate on his face.

"You are the man, the one who killed my son, are you not?"

He spits out, his fists clenched, one going for his sword.

Salem lazily takes a swig of whiskey, and speaks in a cheery tone

"Who wants to know?"

He asks the noble in front of him.

"General Richard Gramont is my name. You're the bastard who killed and ate my son. Did you really think there would be no consequences!?

He growled and roared, drawing his sword and pointing it at Salem, who laughed with a look of mirth and disinterest on his face.

"It's not that I thought there would be no consequences, it's just that I don't give a rat's ass about them. In fact, how about we make a little wager? If you win, you'll get to kill me right here and now, if I win, I take it all, your lands, titles, everything."

General Gramont grins, a look of pride on his face.

"Very well, commoner, let's have a duel. Winner takes all!"

By now, a large crowd had gathered despite the early hour.

Salem began grinning, so much so that blood began to come out of his charred lips, giving him an evil appearance.

"Let's begin this good old row!"

He roars, drawing his chainsaw, ripping the cord, filling the air with the sound of its hungry chains.

Out of nowhere, his armor appears, bloody and gruesome, his helmet appears, the full effect of it coming into play; with the old skull and metal dipped in fresh blood, giving him a monstrous air.

And with that, the two combatants charge. One would win, the other would die.

…

Salem POV

I'm going to enjoy this, breaking a "noble" line and gaining a lot of territory in one blow sounds like a good day to me.

Starting up my good old chainsaw, I see the pompous prick draw his blade and wand, getting both ready for a battle.

The good "general" makes the first move, waving his wand, summoning more of those infernal golems, must be a family thing.

These were stronger and better made the ones my former meal made; with actual weapons and tactics being used. Using my chainsaw, I cleaved through the bronze constructs, but this proved more difficult than I thought, as the other constructs swarmed me, beating and stabbing me, drawing blood.

Jamming a syringe of Psycho into my arm, I began to cackle as the steroid began to do its work, helping me smash the bronze beings aside.

Standing up, I rush towards the mage, who's launching an element I hate with a passion; fire. It burns my old flesh quite easily, causing great amounts of pain.

Just seeing the hateful flame brings me almost ungodly strength, and I lunge at the general; roaring at the top of my lungs, eager to end his life as I remember the pain of being set on fire by a group of raiders once. It set my dead flesh alight, and it burned for two whole days. So, whenever I see an enemy with a Flamer on the battlefield, I take extra time to kill him. Bashing aside the blasted bronze beings. I'm just about to land upon the general, when I hear him shout

"Earth Pillar!"

And then, I feel only pain.

Looking down, I see a large pillar of rock going right through my gut. I try to curse at my foe, but I only cough up my own blood as a result. Faintly, I could hear Louise screaming my name, trying to get my attention; but I couldn't do anything, I could barely move my arms. That's when I see them; the victims. They crawl around the large pillar, grinning and cursing my name; ready to take me to Hell. But, I could hear screams of the gathered crowd; so they were visible this time. Probably because they had to physically touch me to drag me to hell, I guess.

I look down, and see Jane looking at me, a look of determination on her face. Seeing her here, it sparked something in me; rage.

" _I will never be taken by these corpses! If the old Lucifer wants my soul; he'll have to come up and take it himself! My name is Salem Thorn, and I'm not going to die today!"_

I began to roar, pulling myself off of the large pillar much to general Gramont's surprise. In my frenzy I tore off a chunk of my arm, throwing it to the ground. Looking down at it, I saw that one of the spirits jumped into the flesh making it begin bubbling, and the blood was starting to rise up in the air. Before everyone's eyes, the flesh began expanding and stretching. The bloodied skin began flowing across the ground like water, the blood rushing upwards like a reversed tidal wave. Bones began to form in the air, followed by muscle and sinew. It soon began resembling a naked human woman with a very familiar shotgun next to her. Clothes flew from whatever abyss my victims came from; covering her up. A duster, with a cowboy hat, covering her red hair; within moments, she fell onto the ground; and I remembered who this victim was.

It was Cass! My old companion, she began to become cold and distant once she realized who I was, and what I did. She attacked me one day, making me kill her with her own shotgun by bashing her head in.

I look at her, surprise filling me. I killed her so long ago; I didn't think that she would be strong enough to come back. Evidently, I was mistaken. She stood up; shaking her head, like she was trying to shake off some imaginary water.

She turned to look around; then froze when she saw me.

"You bastard! How are you still alive?"

She roared at me, making many of the students and staff alike wince at her vulgar language.

"I'm gonna kill you, after you killing me, we'll be square. You ate me, so I'm going to make this nice and slow, you son of a bitch!"

She screams, leveling her shotgun at me, her eyes were wild and teeth gnashed together.

I look at the reborn spirit before me; while my body heals itself thanks to the mix of Pyscho and a Stimpack; I'm healing up nicely.

"You will serve me, I killed you, everything that you are belongs to me! Mind, body, and soul; all are mine to command, so I command you to attack my enemy!"

I bellow at her, causing many of the people near me jump, freaked out by the events happening before them. And to be honest, I'm starting to freak out myself; I mean, ghosts are one thing; but using my own flesh to summon my dead victims was a new level of creepy.

Cass's eyes went slightly dull; like the eyes of the corpse she was; and turned around towards the now pissing himself general.

He scrambled back, his wand and blade drawn; each weapon pointed back to each of us; his hands shaking.

"S-stay away from me, y-you demons!"

He wailed, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

Walking towards him; he stumbles backwards some more; summoning some more of those blasted golems. I jerk my head at Cass, nudging my head in their general direction. With her usual lack of subtly, she charged forwards, her shotgun blasting away, screaming at the top of her lungs.

As for me, I slowly walked towards the general, pushing him further and further back until he hit a wall. Seeing no other options; he charged me; his battle cry being a mix of desperation and rage; his eyes now bloodshot and full of fright. His blade clashed with my chainsaw; making an awful racket of roaring chains and screeching metal. Kicking him the gut, he stumbled backwards, coming at me from the left this time, trying to flank me. But before he could do anything however, the roar of Cass's shotgun launched him off his feet, sending him right into my fist. With a crunch, he landed on the ground, with a couple of teeth missing and a circle of dark blood being seen starting to form underneath him. The shotgun had done its work well; now he laid on the ground, unable to move, and even if he could, he'd have to deal with Cass and myself. Ditching my chainsaw, I drew a weapon that holds a special place in my heart; Jane's Shishkebab. I had kept it with me every since her passing; it helped me feel close to her. Although, with Jane actually being here, it was a moot point now. With a happy grin, I activated the weapon, sending flames scurrying up and down the metal blade. Cackling at the look of fear on the general's face; I leaned closer.

"Hey general?"

A whimper of fear was my only response

"You lost. You wanna know what's gonna happen now?"

I asked the terrified military man

Another whimper was the only noise he made, so I took that as a yes, and continued on.

"I'm gonna take everything you own, but since you actually managed to wound me, I'm gonna let you have a fighting chance. I am going to let have one free shot. How about it general? Hit me with your best shot!"

I crow at the man, who hastily gets up and grabs his sword.

Turning away from him, I have my back to him, giving him an open shot.

I heard him draw his sword; but before he could actually hit me, something odd happened: all that I heard was a gurgling noise, and the screams of the crowd. Turning around, I saw something strange; the general had a wide grin of tattered skin slashed across his throat, causing blood to spray wildly into the air. General Gramont grasped at his throat in a vain attempt to stop the spraying red life fluid, but it was to no avail; he bled out before my confused eyes. Looking around, I saw Jane's ghostly form, holding a small knife, dripping with the Generals blood. She had made the weapon solid enough to do actual damage, but ethereal enough that no one would actually see it. Walking over to the general's body, I rip his heart out of his still bucking and heaving chest, and consume it, for everyone to see. Blood poured out of my mouth as the General's life source pooled at my feet.

Hearing Jane's laugh, I felt more alive than I've felt in a very long time; I'm going to have a fun time here all right; and with Jane at my side, this world will have new rulers; the dead shall dance and all of Hell will sing with joy, for the ghoul of Vegas has returned!

…

Louise POV

I see Salem standing over the General's body; but I turn away when I see him about to eat his heart. As I do however, I hear something odd, laughter. It was a women's laughter, full of delight at the bloody scene. I feel a headache coming on; but I decide to concentrate on where I heard the voice, and then I see her; A beautiful women in a blood red dress, with pale skin and crimson hair. With a gasp, I realize who she is; it was Jane, Salem's lover from back home. I continue to stare at the phantom before me, feeling more and more unnerved at the sight. Then, she turns around, and looks right at me! Walking over to where I stood, she stared me right in the eyes with a playful grin on her face,

"So, you can see me; interesting."

She muses, before I could say anything however; she pushes one of her slim, pale fingers over my lips, silencing me.

"Ssshhh, no talking. We don't want anyone thinking that you've gone crazy and that you need to be shipped off to the loony bin can we? That's Salem's job"

She laughed, the sound making me shudder a little bit. Before she goes away, she grabs my face, pulls it uncomfortably close, and whispers in my ear.

"See you soon…"

And with that, she vanishes, blowing me a kiss while doing so; leaving me feeling a little bit strange; and very confused.

When I look around, I see that Salem is gone, along with the woman with the strange firearm; but seeing how the crowd parted, I could easily see where he went. Shaking my head, I run after the madman that was my Familiar.

…

Road to the Gramont Estate

Salem POV

I walk over to where I see a horse drawn carriage with the former general's symbol on the side. Cass had vanished into thin air after the battle; her body crumbling into dust. The driver; a pompous looking man, looked alarmed at my appearance. Before he could say anything, I jumped behind him and put a knife to his throat.

"Let's head back home shall we?"

I say to the now terrified man; who says yes, unable to move his head with my knife at his neck. It took awhile to reach the estate, but we made it within three hours. The estate itself was overly grand; like someone was really over compensating for something. I had climbed into the back of the carriage; Maria pointed at the driver's head through the curtain to normally separate the driver from the occupants to serve as…incentive to remind him not to spill the beans.

As soon as we entered the gates, I shot the driver in the back of the head, brains going everywhere; startling the guards. When they opened the carriage doors; ready to impale me, I opened fire with Maria; killed most of them. The two that were left, I beat to death; just to scare anyone who is stupid enough to attack me.

The peasantry ran around screaming, causing chaos for the remaining guards. Pulling out Annabelle, I started shooting at anything that moved; peasant or guard alike. Soon, bodies piled up like massive hills of burning flesh and broken bones. Large amounts of carrion birds began feasting on the piles, and without looking back, I marched into the estate; ready to claim my new lands.

As soon as I entered; more guards charged me, but they didn't even get close thanks to Annabelle. With flaming body parts raining down like chunky salsa; I marched forwards. When I entered the throne room; at least, what I thought was a throne room, there was four people; a middle aged women with blond hair, and three young men. I assumed that these people were all that's left of the Gramont bloodline. The young men charge me with swords in hand and bloodlust in their eyes.

"This for our brother and father!"

One yells, charging me from the flank; I whirl around, already drawing my chainsaw, and meeting his blade head on. His blade wasn't very well made; or it was made for show, it broke easily, causing shards of the blade to fly into his chest; right before the hungry chains of my chainsaw met his flesh, sending chunks flying. The young man let out one last scream before he choked on his own blood; sending him onto the ground on his knees, and then lies still; never moving again. The two other sons summon more bronze constructs at me; which I'm very sick and tired of seeing by now. Cleaving them apart with my chainsaw, I then move to kill their master with Liberator, hacking and slashing the last male heir to bits. Covered in blood, some mine; most theirs, I walk over to the final person in the room; Lady Gramont. She was an older woman, but she managed to keep herself looking young. In her left hand was a spear; in her right hand was a wand. Her steel grey eyes fixed me with a death glare.

"You killed my sons, you killed my husband! You're going to die today!"

For some reason, I couldn't take her seriously, maybe it was the way she held the spear; she clearly had no experience using it. Maybe it was the ghost of Jane making faces at her from behind her back.

Anyways, she continued on her speech.

"I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to make it slow-

"Ninety five"

Ignoring me, she went on prattling on

"After I kill you, I'm going to kill that little master of yours, I'm going to burn her alive-

"Twenty three"

Her face went red, eyes went bloodshot.

"Ok, what the hell are you doing!?"

She screamed at me, her hands clenching their respective weapons ever tighter.

"Oh, sorry, I've heard these speeches so many times I had to make a little game for myself. I began counting how many times I heard a specific line. So, are you going to keep running yer mouth, or can we get this over with? I have many plans for your lands, and you're wasting my time."

"I'm going to…fuck…your…face!"

Her eyes almost pop out of her head, she's so pissed.

"Ooooh, twelve"

I smirk

Lady Gramont sneered at me, and began waving her wand. A wave of boulders began showering the room. Not being able to get a shot off, I dived behind some of the rubble caused by my fight with the Gramont heirs. As she pelted my cover, slowly shipping it away; I started planning. If magic is a weapon; it has to recharge or reload sometime, all I gotta do is wait it out; and then I'll strike.

The pebbles began to slow down in speed and size until suddenly, they stopped all together. I pop my head up to see Lady Gramont panting and heaving like she just ran across the entire Mojave Desert. Grinning, I bolted towards the defenseless woman, who could just barely deflect Liberator. Staggering backwards, I charged to flank her, slicing her leg off below the ankle; causing her to crumple onto the floor.

With a scream, she lunges at me in a desperate attempt to end my life. In the spilt second this happens; everything slows down to a crawl. I can clearly see every part of my target; with chances of if I'll be able to hit it.

" _V.A.T.S. It's finally back online. Ok, let's see here, what can I hit? Oooh, I can take out her arm and other legs in one go! Let's see if this works!"_

I begin to chuckle as I move at normal speed, shattering Lady Gramont's limbs and casting her aside in a broken heap.

Kneeling down, I look her in the eyes, and end her mercifully by stabbing her in the heart; killing her instantly. I may be a psychotic bastard, but even I know to honor an opponent. And oddly, the Lady of this Estate put up more of a fight then the entire estate combined.

" _Must be the difficulty spike."_

I think to myself.

Wait, what the hell is a difficulty spike? Ah, nevermind. Anyways, I moved past the corpse and marched towards a small worn door in the back end of the room.

Opening the door; a wave of gore, sickness, and smells of home wafted into my nose; bringing back a strange feeling of déjà vu. Walking down the grimy steps, I see another familiar sight; one from Legion camps. I saw masses of people crammed into cells, people on torture tables, tools still laid out; the people there were dirty, and from the look of them, they were killers, rebels, heretics or madmen; my kind of people. I start opening cell doors, and the people began pouring out; cheering and bellowing. The smart ones grabbed weapons from the torture tables, or from anywhere they could find them. Soon, I had many angry and sadistic prisoners gathered to me. The largest of them; a heavily scarred and tattooed giant of a man with a greatsword in his hands stepped forward

"Boss, what are we gonna be doing now? We gonna cause some trouble?"

He asked me eagerly, his dark eyes shining with a mockery of childlike glee at the mere thought of pillaging and looting. Clapping this man on the back, I begin to laugh.

"Soon my newly freed comrades, soon you'll be able to kill and pillage to your heart's content. But first, spread the word; every low life, killer, or anyone who hates the Crown, they come here; and we're gonna have ourselves a fun time."

The man looked at me, and then smiled a shark like smile.

"You heard da boss lads! Let's get ta work!"

He bellowed, and his fellow ne'er do wells cheered, some began dancing strange jigs, others marched out of the estate carrying valuables; gold, beer, servant wenches or whatever you call a male version of that profession. Soon, the courtyard was full of activity; most of it immoral and illegal, my kind of stuff. We began tearing down anything resembling a shrine to Brimir or anything showing loyalty to the crown. The good thing about this estate was that it was far enough away from anyone so no one would be able to notice anything strange. It was perfect for what I had in mind. I marched back into the estate, and sat down on the now bloody throne. Pulling some whiskey out of wherever it goes after I pick things up; I take a nice long swig, and relax. Soon, this world is going to have some new leaders, and it's gonna be fun.

…

Louise POV

"Stupid… Familiar, I'm going to… hit him so hard."

I gasp out to myself. I had been climbing this Brimir forsaken mountain for almost an hour now; I was chasing the carriage that Salem had climbed into. It took a lot of running, cursing and screaming; but I'm finally at the Gramont estate.

It looked like an army had marched in; complete with smoking rubble, corpses and fire everywhere. Looking at the front gates, I saw that the family crest had been torn down and had been replaced by a gruesome wreath of skulls. A black flag now flew on the walls; a skeletal hand crushing the life out of a red snake. As soon as I got closer to the gates, I began hearing laughter, fighting and roaring. Peeking in, I could only gasp at what I saw: a small army of dirty men and women; most armed, the ones that were not were using their magic as entertainment for the others; launching fire balls into the air, or throwing priceless family heirlooms into air with Earth Pillars, then crushing them with boulders. Regardless, everybody there had a sinister look to them; some had scars, other had limbs missing that had been replaced by weapons. Many of these vagabonds had some of the servants or staff at their feet as spoils of war. I was about to enter the estate, but was stopped by the filthy guards at the walls.

"Who goes there?"

A voice demanded from on top of the scarred battlements.

"Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, and I have business with the lord of this estate."

I declare to the guards, and silence was my answer. It lasted for what felt like ages; until I heard a voice reply with

"Go ahead, but whatever ya do, don't bother anybody, we got some very nasty characters here."

Striding through the courtyard, I saw that the guard's warning was a total understatement; the dead were simply piled in corners or on strange carts being shipped into a large shack with smoke coming out a hole in the top. Most of the women were nearly topless, with several admirers, male and female alike crowded around, each eager for a look. The dark corners were currently occupied with either carnal acts or murder; so I kept walking. When I entered the main hall, I saw that all the expensive paintings and statues were either burned or smashed; leaving only rubble behind. I felt like someone was watching me; and when I turned around, I saw him: a humongous man; wearing white armor, with spiked shoulder plates. His cape and clothes under the armor was blood red; but his sword was what drew my full attention; it was massive, it didn't even really look like a blade; more like a heap of iron. He didn't say anything; his torn and damaged face simply glaring at me.

Before he could move closer however; a very familiar voice halted his advance.

"Enough Lanius! begone."

Before my very eyes, the massive man dissolved into nothingness, the last thing to go however, was his eyes. They blazed with unimaginable cruelty and bloodlust that made Salem look downright friendly.

I backed away from the terrifying sight, I bumped straight into Salem; he looked surprised and pleased to see me.

"Louise! If I had known that you were following me, I would have given you a better reception."

He stood walked towards me, giving me a wide smile, not the creepy one that foretold violence; but a friendly smile. He was wearing a nice black suit; not the bloody armor that he usually wears. To complete the look, he was wearing a top hat, along with a walking stick, with strange wires running around it. Even though his face was horribly scarred, he looked actually happy to see me. Still smiling, he began showing me around the estate, still full of people. Seeing my look of fear at their rowdy and dirty appearance, he began explaining why they were here.

"It turns out that the Gramonts had a murder dungeon in their basement. After I took over these lands, I freed them; most of them had been down there for decades, so they swore their loyalty to me. As for the look of the estate at the moment, it's still under construction, so we'll be building on it while we're gone."

Confused, I begin wondering about what he's talking about. Almost in answer to my unspoken question, Salem continued talking.

"Thanks to some of my new friends, I know where the thief that attacked your academy is hiding. How about it Louise, let's be heroes today shall we?"

I look at him, a grin already growing on my face; I follow him to his carriage and go off, Salem cackling happily as he drives the horses into a terrified frenzy; his laughter was contagious, and I find myself laughing along. That's what the people at the sides of a road see; a withered and scarred man in a suit, and a pink haired girl howling with laughter as their carriage barrels down the road.

It takes us a while to get back to academy, Salem still grinning. I keep looking at the walking stick he is carrying; he notices, and with a smirk tells me

"This old thing? I got it after helping out some of my buddies back home; it was originally used to simply knock people out, but I tweaked it a wee bit and now it's probably one of the most fun weapons I have on me. The suit and top hat just complete the image of a small time noble."

It made sense, appearances are everything here, even though he doesn't like it, he can't just take on everyone all at once and win.

We arrive at an old house, nothing more than a shack really. Salem leaps out of the carriage, and rushes toward the shack with a fervor worthy of a man possessed. He kicks open the door, his walking stick in hand; along with a monstrous grin on his face. In the middle of the room, was a very strange looking metal box. It had strange letters on the side, but from Salem's expression; it was important.

"It can't be"

He mutters.

"What is it?"

I ask, more than a bit sacred by the expression on his face. It was a mix of terror and glee.

"It's a Fat Man, one of the power devastating weapons ever made from back home; one Mini Nuke could wipe out whole city blocks. Now that I have it, I'm gonna have me a fun time."

He cackles as he holds the weapon over his shoulder. Before I can say anything; the shack is blown apart by a massive stone limb. When the dust settles, we see Fouquet riding the massive mound of stone. Wasting no time, Salem launches the newly named Fat Man at the golem, sending waves of poisonous energy that Salem called radiation into the air, completely obliterating the golem's left leg. Fouquet started cursing and swearing at us from the now stumbling golem. Salem begins cackling like a lunatic with a wild grin on his face. The radiation must have had some lasting effect on the rest of the stone and dirt, because the golem began to crumble away into nothing; much to Fouquet's surprise, as well as my own. The golem crashed to the dirt, pinning Fouquet on the ground. Salem puts away the Fat Man, and draws his walking stick of all things; and walks over to where the thief was pinned.

I try and follow him, but he holds me back saying

"Trust me, this is going to get ugly, and I don't want you to see this"

His voice has a foreboding tone to it.

With that, he walks off; leaving me by the carriage wondering what's going to happen.

…

Salem POV

After telling Louise to wait by the carriage, I walk to where the so-called master thief lay on the ground, pinned by her own creation. As I begin to approach her, I can hear her cursing and trying to use her wand, the hand now crushed by rubble. As I finally reach her, she glares at me with undisguised hate in her eyes.

"What do you want, you filthy noble?"

She sneers through the pain that is obviously racking her body with agony. Her determination pleases me

" _She'll be fun to break, back at the estate. I know some of the guys back there that would love to try some of their torture tricks on her, like that Scarron fella; creepiest bugger I've ever met, he keeps going on about his niece Siesta. If his sense of style doesn't freak you out, his voice would; it sounds like someone started shoving knives into his balls! His sick sense of humor usually involves with several people dead. But alas, I don't have a lot of time, and I can't take her back home, not unless I can convince Louise that we need information."_

I mentally plan to myself, whistling a random tune I heard back home, and twirling my walking stick. Tearing off the chunks of rock surrounding the thief, I help her onto her feet. With a grunt, she shoots me a look that spoke of confusion

"Why did you do that? You're a noble, and they're all assholes."

At this, I smirk

"On that, we agree. Ya see, I'm not really a noble; I just killed off an entire bloodline, took over their lands, and have a small army rampaging across their lands right now. So, what did you do today?"

She looked at me with an expression that could only be considered as comically surprised.

Before she could speak however, I kept on talking.

"So, in exchange for my protection, how about you swear your loyalty to me?"

Her expression flips into one of disgust and anger.

"Like hell I would!"

She sneered; despite having only one hand, the other mulch by the rubble; she still tried to resist me. That ended once I demonstrated my walking stick. Inside the shaft of the walking stick was a giant tazer essentially; just tweaked to bring as much pain to the victim as humanly possible.

Her screams blasted through the empty space, bringing back lovely memories of killing Benny; this time however, it was with a far more enjoyable weapon.

Over her screaming, I begin explaining her little situation

"If you could stop screaming for a moment, I gotta tell ya what's going on here; if you hear a crackling noise, followed by a smell that reminds you of bacon; that's your skin being roasted to a nice well done. So, if you want this to stop, just swear your loyalty to me, and this'll end"

"F-Fuck you!"

She screams over the sizzling and crackling electricity. Sighing, I keep the pressure on; and despite her bravado, she eventually breaks, begging for the torment to stop. Helping her up, I walk her back to the carriage. Once Louise sees her, she gasps

"Miss Longueville!? You're Fouquet!?"

Indeed, the secretary of old Osmond had been behind everything; it made sense really; her knowledge of everything that was going on, the shifty look in her eyes. Now, with her broken, I'll have a master thief in my pocket; a good place to start for my little insurrection I have planned.

Without a word, Miss Longueville stepped into the carriage and we began our trip back to the manor; eager to turn in for the night. As we finally made it back to the estate; I saw that my little group had made good progress on the estate; adding in a massive gallows; already full with the remaining soldiers and some of the more rebellious serving staff. A couple of the more creative killers had decorated the walls and towers of the estate with bits of bone and blood to really give a vibe of menace. I looked over and saw the expressions on the two ladies; Louise had a look of horror on her face, while Longueville had a look of anger plastered on her face.

"What have you done!"

I hear Louise shout, her eyes popping open to comical lengths, they almost shot out of her head. Longueville said nothing, simply glaring at me; but she wasn't stupid enough to raise my ire again, she body still bore the burns from the walking stick.

"What I've done is send a message to this land, and all who would oppose me; this is my land, and you can bend your knee willfully, or I'll bust it so you'll grovel at my feet. Louise, you've wanted to be noticed, to have power yes? Then this is the first step; show these nobles that you mean business, and the only way that can be done is with bloodshed."

As I'm talking, her expression shifts from outright fury, to a look that reminded me of Cachino back in Gomorrah; greed. Her outlook on things had been slowly shifting ever since I had shown her some actual attention; her parents must have been worse people than I thought.

Nodding her approval; she joined me at the front of the carriage, a strange look on her face.

"I saw her"

I heard Louise say, looking at me with a mix of fear and confusion on her face.

"Who did you see?"  
I ask, not sure what she's going on about

"Jane. I saw her after you killed General Gramont; she talked to me for a while; saying that she'd see me soon."

I look at Louise, surprised that she could see her, maybe it was the runes on my hand, I don't know. Looking at Louise, I noticed that she was blushing for some reason.

"Louise, did Jane do or say anything else?"

I ask, and upon hearing that, her blush darkened, becoming a dark crimson.

"S-she flirted with me!"

She stammered out, from the look on her face; girls flirting with other girls doesn't happen here.

As I'm thinking about this, Louise keeps talking, calling Jane a deviant and words of a similar meaning. Smirking, I pat the pinkette on the head

"Yeah, she does that a lot. You're lucky that she didn't have an actual body and that you didn't look older"

I say, upon hearing my comment, Louie's eyes narrowed with the tell tale signs of suspicion.

"Why?"

Her voice dropped, sounding nervous. Not sure on how to word the next sentence, I pushed on anyways.

"Well, back home Jane had a very…unique reputation amongst the rulers and leaders in our respective lands; Like how Legate Lanius of Caesar's Legion doesn't care about his men, he only cares about bloodshed and victory. General Oliver of the New California Republic, or NCR for short; was a mediocre leader, often relying on his subordinates to do everything. Jane was known to have very specific tastes in her style of ruling. She took inspiration from some of the most bloody and brutal leaders in our world's history, often impaling those who would defy her rule. But the one thing that many people feared the most about her was her…orientation. She demanded tribute from her captured lands; usually young maidens and young men for her to use as she saw fit. She was well known for her love of that particular part of her rule. Before battle, some said she would bathe in the blood of the defiant maidens that she "employed"."

Louise stared at me with horror clear on her face as we drove past the gates, and walked through the courtyard, now covered in blood and shattered bottles.

"You mean she would have…oh Founder"

She muttered to herself, trying to understand just what kind of a woman Jane was.

"Yeah, like I said, you're lucky she wasn't able to do anything. Not that I would have let her do anything to ya."

I say to reassure her, after all, Jane knew not to have her way with those under my command, not unless they consented; I'm not a monster. We finally pulled into the estate, many of the guards saluting or standing to attention. One of the benefits of having a estate like this is the sheer amount of bandits, killers, and thugs I could cram in here, more arrive every day from pretty much every shady town or hamlet in the area. I had to make extra room for all people arriving, usually killing the remaining staff and guards; the gallows were always full. By the time we had arrived at the estate, night had fallen, so Louise went to her new room to sleep, while I led Longueville to the dungeons where she'll cool her heels for a while. Retiring to my room, sleep came easily, for once in many years; I had no nightmares; if only I had known what was going on with other people.

….

Siesta POV

Siesta's mind

I find myself in a dark space, just the void wherever I looked. That changed when a figure appeared in front of me. It was Jane again, looking as deadly as always. Without saying anything, she jerked her head in the vague notion of "follow me".

Walking behind her, the scenery changed from the blackness of the void, to a desert full of ruins and bones, it looked like a battle had already occurred here, if the smell was anything to go by; the stench of rot and blood stained the air. Biting back my bile, I looked over at Jane, her face hardening into a grimace. Looking around, I saw someone kneeling on the ground, surrounded by corpses, they were brutally mutilated; almost to the point of being nothing more than ground meat. The young woman had crimson hair, pale skin, and was wearing a strange getup; it looked like a blue jumpsuit, with the numbers 101 on the back printed in yellow. The clothes were torn, revealing way too much to be considered modest. I looked closer at the young woman, and it was then when I figured out who it was: it was Jane! Albeit a far younger Jane, but it was her; and she didn't look good at all. Her skin was bloodied, scratched and bruised; like someone or multiple people had been beating her. She stood up, a wild look on her face, tears streaming down her face, a shattered look in her eyes; it was the look of someone who had just been through Hell.

"This is where everything went wrong"

Jane, the real Jane's voice broke into my thoughts beside me, her face nearly mirrored the young woman before me, save one thing; her expression was hard and strong, a face of a woman who had seen the worst the world had to offer, and kept moving.

"I wasn't always what you see before you; a violent creature. No, I was once just like you, naïve, idealistic, and blissfully ignorant of the world around me. I had set out from the only home I had ever known in order to find my father. The world I found outside was harsh, cruel, and uncaring. It didn't care; in fact it tried to kill you at every turn; if it isn't the unnatural animals wanting to eat you, it was the roaming bands of raiders that would take everything you had before killing you."

Upon saying this, I noticed Jane's hands clenching to the point of small rivers of blood began dripping down her pale skin; a stark contrast to each other; the crimson red of blood, and the snow white of her skin.

"I had travelled to nearest settlement, a large town known as Megaton; it was a nice enough town as towns back home would go. Doing some traded, I set off again to fetch some supplies for a doctor inside the town. The place I was headed to was an abandoned shopping center; think of a massive food storage house. I killed most of them, as they would not listen to reason. The rest ran off, and thinking that I had drove them off for good, I collected the supplies I was asked to get, and as soon as I opened the doors, there was a massive group of raiders. I tried to run away, making it to the open wasteland, but I was shot in my left leg, effectively crippling me until I could get it fixed. The group was led by the raiders that had run away from my previous attack; and they wanted payback. They took what I had, and broke my arm."

"And that was when you killed them right? That was how your clothes got ripped and you got scratched right?"

I ask, hopefully wishing that were the case.

Jane looked at me, a hollow reflection looking back at me.

"No, that wasn't the case at all. They beat me over and over for the killing of their comrades; if that was the worst of it I may have made it out mentally intact. No, they took something from me that could never be regained; they laughed and jeered at me, each of them repeating the act for days. For an entire week they did this, eventually thinking they broke me, in that moment of weakness, I had my vengeance; silting many of their throats in the dead of the night, and hacking the rest of them to pieces with a machete. Only a few of the bastards were awake during the night, and they charged me, firing wildly as many of them had been taking Pyscho or Jet to stay awake while on watch. The guards were easy to take out, well, easy enough if you know how to fight. The raiders had gotten lazy lately, and it showed from how they fought: with no skill or grace. I killed them all, down to a man, or rather to a woman. The leader of the raiders was a woman, not uncommon in the Wasteland. I saved her last, eventually cutting her head off and turning it into a belt buckle on my new clothes, the raiders armor meshed together to cover my torn Vault Suit. After this, I agreed to destroy the town of Megaton, being paid handsomely for this, and cementing my path; one of power and fear. I would never be violated again, and I'll die first if someone tries it again."

I look at Jane, her eyes showing violence and spite. She turns to look at me, a strange look on her face.

"You've just been kidnapped"

She mutters, sounding uncertain.

"W-what do you mean!?"

I yell, my voice echoing across the mental landscape.

"It means you've been kindapped!"

Jane yells, slapping me across the face. I look around, the world returning to black, that's when I wake up to find myself in a room; a noble's room if the excessive wealth is anything to go by.

"Well, well, well. My new toy"

A ugly sounding voice sounds from the shadows, and a nobleman steps out of the shadows, and I gasp; Count Mott, a vile man with disgusting tendencies, he often kidnaps maidens and brings them to his estate to work as "maids", they never return.

I hear Jane's voice in my head

"Give me control, give me your body, I'll make sure that slimy toad never touches me"

I notice Jane said "me", not "us", but before I can agree on anything, I feel a blunt object smash into the back of my head, and all fades to black once more.

…

This chapter down! On to more things!

Send feedback, love, hate, or questions by PMing me, it's easier for me to get back to you that way.

As always, stay awesome, stay classy, and have a lovely day!


	5. Carrion and Blood

Hello everyone, me again. I hope you enjoy.

Salem's speech was tweaked bits and pieces of Bane's Blackgate Prison Speech from Dark Knight Rises

I'm gonna show you crazy (excerpt) by Bebe Rexha

The weapons used are from the 17th Century, as from what I've read, that's the closest that the world of Familiar of Zero has to our own history. Of course, I'll be adding in things from Fallout, but for the most part, the medieval weapons will be as close to historical accurate as I can get, even if the anime/manga did not.

I own nothing except for the countries that I introduced in this chapter (Ba'alrazim, Vagi'maki, Valkovia, and Malkavania)

….

...

Carrion and Blood

Salem POV

My sleep is interrupted by one of the guards.

"Boss, there are two people on horseback outside the gate; they say that they're here to talk to Louise"

Jumping out of bed, I don the suit and top hat that was hanging on the edge of my bed and run outside to see how these people were. To my surprise, it was Kirche and Tabitha. Upon seeing Louise, they quickly explained that a letter had come for her; it was from the maid who had gone missing late last night.

"Was her name Siesta?"

I ask, hoping that I was mistaken, praying to a higher power and I don't even believe in the shit.

Sadly, my fears were proven right. I felt something start to burn in my chest, it was a feeling I knew all too well; rage. Staying quiet, I learned that she was most likely taken by Count Mott, a noble know for his disgusting tastes and his reputation for being a violent lecher.

I storm out of the room, bellowing for every single able-bodied killer to be up and ready to do some damage; we have us an estate to torch. It took around fifteen minutes, as it was quite early in the morning, but I had every single person under my command up and eager for bloodshed.

"Boss, we can't just march to Mott's estate and send it to hell, he's the Royal Messenger. Torching his place would be like declaring war on the Crown itself. I know that's what we're planning on doing, but you and I both know we don't have the manpower to fight the armies of the Crown, not all at once."

The massive prisoner from before grumbled, despite his brutish appearance, he was actually quite smart. I later learned that his name was Conrad Weber, wanted for homicide, arson, and rebellion against the Crown and Church of Brimir, my kind of fellow.

"Fine. What do we need?"

I ask, hoping that it's nothing too crazy.

"We'd need regular folk, like peasants or rebels or something like that. People that we could blame and that you wouldn't be immediately connected to. As far as the rest of the world knows, you took over the Gramont estate, but you're a noble, so it's fair game. If they found out the truth-

I cut him off

"And they will, in time. But you're right, of course. We'll need some cannon fodder, some commoners who have an axe to grind with Mott."

A light bulb went off in my head.

"Say, Mott doesn't just take maids from the academy right? He takes the local girls too. I think that the fathers and brothers of the missing women would want to get even eh?"

I grin, already working out a plan in my head.

"Send most of our best to scout ahead, kill any straggling guards, infiltrate the estate, but don't make anymore moves till I give the signal"

My right hand keeps following me

"And how will we know what that is boss?"

At this, I smirk

"Trust me; you'll know it when you see"

And with that, I grab my weapons, led Louise and co out to my carriage, where my newly employed bodyguards were already waiting; weapons at the ready.

" _Hold on Jane, don't start raising Hell till I get there."_

I mentally smirk to myself, already getting excited about the fireworks that were about to go off. This'll be fun!

….

3rd Person POV

Mott Estate

The Mott Estate; home to a lecherous and vile man, and it was currently under siege. Not by an invading army or a horde of barbarians; but by the peasantry, the common folk. Count Mott had been taking the local maidens to serve him; none ever come back. The guards are cruel and violent; killing anyone who speaks out, but today, something was different, the peasants were out in force; armed with anything they could get their hands on. From pitchforks to muskets; they marched on the estate with vengeance in their hearts, and bloodshed on their minds. The guards were getting nervous, the commoners have never been this angry before, someone had to have been leading them. That sentiment was answered by a terrifying man leading the angry horde; he was seven feet tall, with a skull for a helmet. He wore strange armour that was covered in gruesome bits of past kills. But the scariest thing for the guards was his weapon; it was a weapon that roared with rage, and had hungry chains for teeth. The man walked up to the gate, and turned to the army, and began to rally them.

"Today **,** we take Tristain from the corrupt! The rich! And we give back it to you, the people. Tristain is yours! None shall interfere, do as you please.But start by storming this estate and freeing the oppressed! Step forward those who would serve. For an army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nestsand cast out into the cold world that we know and endure, courts will be convened, and spoils will be enjoyed!Blood will be shed. The nobility will survive, as they learn to serve true justice. This great country, it will endure. Tristain will survive!"

The man looked up at the guards, and shouted out

"Open the gates and you will be spared! Join us! Loot, rob, and plunder! What has your master done for you?"

The guards looked at each other, and as one of the guards reached for gate control, the other guard killed him, chucking his body over the side.

"Go to Hell, ya bastard!"

The man yelled, brandishing his bloody sword in the air. The leader smirked, telling the crowd to clear the road. Confused, the mob did so. For a few moments, nothing happened, than one of Mott's carriages came barrelling down the road, with C-4 and dynamite strapped to it. Holding the reigns was a cloaked man, who had the trigger in his hand. It was heading straight for the gate, and at the last moment, the man jumped out, activating the explosives. The gates, and by extension the walls were covered in flames, the stone walls crumbling from the force of the explosives.

The angry mob rushed through the breach, howling bloody murder at the top of their lungs, their eyes bloodshot and bulging and eager to give their blades a bloody home in wounds, give their axes their purpose, to let their muskets send lead smashing into skulls and organs.

The guards tried to hold back the tide of humanity, cutting down several angry peasants; but the sheer amount of pitchforks and axes gutted, slashed, and hacked the cruel guards to their deaths.

Throughout the chaos and bloodshed, none noticed the large crowd of violent, cloaked men and women approaching the side of the estate; all were armed. But the thing that made this mob different from both the royal guards and peasantry were their weapons. All had wicked and sadistic weapons at the ready, from simple falchions and broad swords, all the way to more expensive weapons such as Corseques and some Becs de Corbin. Small groups of figures could be seen happily brandishing a couple of Arquebuseses; an early firearm, it was the forefather to the modern rifle.

In front of the mob of cloaked figures stood a human mass of dirty, hunched over, and chained together men and women. From the looks of them, they used to be guardsmen or servants of the Gramont Estate. They had been made "better suited" to combat, meaning that hands had been replaced with hatchets and mace heads. On their chests were strange blocks, they didn't look like metal or cloth; but if you got close enough to see the small letters on the side of the blocks, it would chill you to the bone. It read "C-4", or Plastic Explosives. Forcing the pathetic wretches forwards were more cloaked figures with whips and flails, the cracks of both heralding the group's arrival. Over all, there were around five thousand of the killers gathered, if you don't include the unwilling combatants.

Behind the approaching army was a massive cannon, a Bombard to be more specific. These gargantuan artillery pieces were known for launching massive balls of stone or metal. It was being pulled by a team of horses. The man leading this group was a beast of man; with a large spiked maul in his hands, and if you looked closely, you could see that under his cloak was heavy plate armour. His face was scared and brutal, his dark skin having the scars being easy to see.

"Load the cannon! Send in the meat shields!"

The man barked, his baritone voice being easy to hear. With a cackle, the handlers of the unfortunate souls pushed the pathetic mob forwards, sending them charging into the stone walls of the west end of the estate. With a cruel laugh, the man reached into his cloak and pulled out a detonator. With a simple click, another massive wave of fire and charred human remains rained down to the ground, painting the virgin soil red and black. The wretches had instantly perished; the explosives immediately killing the poor sods, probably for the best.

The Royal Guards whirled around to see another hole being blasted open by another group of invaders, this one looking more brutal than the angry mob of peasants led by the demon in human flesh that ate the still beating hearts of every guard that fell to his weapon from Hell. At this moment, every single guard that was outside fell to his knees and surrendered and begged for his life. The leaders of the two forces quickly ordered their forces to join together, the peasants were to take orders from the mob of killers and rebels. Looting wasn't simply allowed, it was encouraged, the army could do whatever they wanted to the forces at the Estate, as long as they gave a tribute to the leader of the invading force. The leader of the army, the seven foot tall man from before looked at the Bombard, and grinned, his grin being unnaturally wide due to the fake smile already carved on his face.

"Fire!"

...

Salem POV

The Bombard fired its deadly contents into the Estate; giving us access to the loot within. Fathers and brothers were the first inside, each looking for a loved one to save. My force of killers rushed in afterwards, the musket men taking positions to pick off any stragglers that managed to get pass the raiders. Servants screamed, the ones that were here against their wills grabbed any objects they could find and joined the mob, joining their families and letting their weapons do their bloody deeds. As I walked through the decadent halls, I saw that many rooms were only used for carnal pleasures, and from the sheer brutality that many of the servant women (and some men) were inflicting on many of the guards, it wasn't based on consent. The guards fought surprisingly well, I guess they didn't land their jobs for kissing up to the nobility. Despite their best efforts, there were simply far more peasants than guards, for every commoner or one of my forces that fell, ten more took his place. Slowly we pushed back the guards towards the main hall. Several peasants had split off from the main force and ran down to several cellars and dungeons to find more young women trapped down there, all malnourished and sickly. But upon hearing the possibility of revenge, they grabbed sickles, clubs, and blades, and joined us as well.

Fireballs and lightning soared from the defenders end, but a quick volley of musket fire from some peasant soldiers quickly ended that. Soon, we had reached the main hall door. They were grand and showed all the signs of someone overcompensating for something important. Telling the mob to stand back, I pulled out the Fat Man, blowing the door, and anyone standing near it to Hell. With a roar, the mob charged forwards, cutting down the remaining guards with a gusto that reminded me a bit too much like the Fiends from back home. That's when I saw him: Count Mott. His reputation certainly did him justice as he practically radiated a presence of vileness that sickened me. But I stopped dead in my tracks when I realised what he was holding; a knife. It was currently at Siesta's throat, pressing slightly into her neck, causing blood to drip down a bit. Her clothes were torn, her eyes had the look of being a thousand miles away; it was clear that something happened to her, something unforgivable.

"Don't come any closer, you commoner dogs!"

The man yelled, disgust pouring out of every pore as he looked at us with small pig like eyes that rolled in their sockets wildly as he saw just how many of us there were in this room alone.

"Surrender! Your guards are either dead or have surrendered, and you're alone. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

I shout, seeing Jane's ghost whispering something into Siesta's ear, and very subtly, Siesta nodded. Suddenly, she slammed her head back into Mott's nose, breaking it. With a scream, the vile nobleman clamped his hand on her throat and time seemed to stop as he slashed her throat open.

" _nonononononnono! Not again! I just got her back!"_

My mind lurches at the sight, but something in the corner of my eye makes me pause; Jane smiling. She smiled like it was one giant game that only she knew we were playing. With a wink, she reached her ghostly hands onto Siesta's bleeding neck, put her face to the wound, and began to drink, the sounds of a lapping tongue was the only noise in the deathly quiet room.

I looked on, completely dumbfounded by the scene before me. For once in my life, I had no ace in the hole, no hidden agenda to help me understand this. I could only watch as Jane drank Siesta dry, her life blood going into the Conqueror of the Capital Wasteland. I don't know if it was the lifetime of chems deciding that now was the best time to cause my downfall, but it seemed that Jane was becoming less and less ghostly, becoming more corporal, more solid. Everyone was looking on in confusion and in Motts case, horror as before everyone's disbelieving eyes; a woman appeared in front of the crowd. She was just as beautiful was I remembered her to be, with pale skin, blood red hair and green eyes. A blood red dress seemed to float in an unearthly wind, and she then turned to look at me, smiling all the while.

"It's been a while my dear."

She purred with her voice soft and inviting. She held out her hand, I stared at it for a moment, when I realised what she wanted. Digging into my pack, I tossed her the Shishkebab, flames already trailing off the blade. With a devilish grin, she walked over to Count Mott, who was now pissing himself in fright.

"W-who a-are you?"

Mott whimpered, trying to lean away from the newly reanimated tyrant.

Jane walked towards Mott, a lazy smile on her face.

"Someone with an axe to grind with you, my dear count; you see, I would normally have no problem with the little operation you have going on here, but that changed the second you defiled my host."

The seemed to drop a couple of degrees as Jane's smile suddenly flipped into a cruel sneer.

"But this isn't my normal day. You defiled Siesta, who's company I happened to enjoy. And on top of that, you killed her. So, I think that I'll do a good deed today and get revenge for every single girl you kidnapped. It will not be quick, not like something Salem would do. No, I'm going to make you pay for every drop of blood you took, or rather, other bodily fluids."

Faster than the eye could see, she slashed with the Shishkebab, severing Mott's hand, the one with his wand from his body. The fiery blade instantly cauterized the wound.

After he stopped screaming, he looked at Jane and spat out

"Y-you crazy bitch!"

He screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. Jane backhanded the noble across the face, before grabbing his hair and smashing his head into the ground. Throughout the entire thing, we could hear her mutter a song chorus from a long time ago.

"And I don't need your quick fix

I don't want your prescriptions

Just cause you say I'm crazy

So what if I'm fucking crazy

And I'm gonna show you

Loco, maniac

Sick bitch, psychopath

Yea I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna show you

Yea I'm gonna show you

Mental, out my brain

Bad shit, go insane

Yea I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna show you

Yea I'm gonna show you"

After she was done, Jane looked back to me with an easy smile, before launching herself into my arms. We just held each other close, not caring about the world around us. Our spell was broken by Mott trying to get away.

"Just a sec, I'll be right back."

I whisper to Jane, knocking Mott out with a stomp from my boot.

"Take him back to the estate, put him in the dungeon, I have a couple of toys I want to try out on him"

I bark to my men.

Conrad walked to me and saluted

"Boss, should we bring Louise and the others?"

He asked, to which I grunted an affirmative. Jane looked at me a bit confused.

"Others?"

"Yeah, two more. One's an ice and wind mage, so she'd be good for an assassin later down the road if your "persuasion" tactics work in the end. The other is a fire mage, so she'd be good for crowd control if you can chip her."

To which Jane smiled happily at the thought of experimenting again; and this time there will be no more radiation poisoning or inbreeding from some of the older Vault Dwellers to muck things up.

"Good, it'll be nice to tweak things with this gene pool. The last time I did that was with the Swampfolk back in Point Lookout; inbred buggers"

She smirked at the memory of fighting those guys. It wasn't until I arrived that I managed to make an agreement with them; they don't attack us, they get to have any and all fresh meat that shows up on their land.

Soon, Louise and company walked through the destroyed gates and into the main hall, where they looked surprised to see the destruction and Jane. As Tabitha and Kirche introduced themselves, I noticed a strange look in Jane's eyes once she saw the busty redhead, it reminded me too much of when she had brought her old "friend" Amata to me after Jane had "perfected" her. It was a mix of lust and rage, a very dangerous combination to have.

After introductions, Jane asked if I had anymore of her gear; guns, ammo stuff like that. When I said that I did, she got a mischievous look on her face.

"Would you happen to have any more of my things?"

She asked with a look on her face that I remembered all too well; she wanted to poke fun at me in public.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

I try to end the conversation before it gets awkward.

"You know…my toys"

She purred, getting extremely close to me. I managed to look around and I remembered that Louise and the others were still here.

"There are kids present! I may be a cannibal but I have standards for god's sake!"

I exclaim as I suddenly realise what she's asking.

"You're no fun"

She pouts, put quickly cheers up when I promised to give them to her later. With Louise and company in tow, we decide to head back to the estate, leaving Mott's estate to be rebuilt. Jane orders all of Mott's guards be impaled as soon as the carriage is out of sight. I catch Jane up to speed on the plan and what's going on. She seemed to like the idea of training Louise, and the eventual experiments she would perform on the other mages in the carriage.

I agreed to let Jane train Louise first, as I some work to do, mainly hiring new help to maintain our hold on the Mott estate, I had to guess that Mott had allies somewhere, and we had to be ready for them. I messaged my contacts, telling them to find the worst of the worst they could find.

With that finished, I decided to wait till Jane and Louise came back. It's been a good day, and it's only going to get better.

…

Louise POV

Jane was a strange woman, she was beautiful, and she was very intense. She taught me how to how properly use a gun, a .44 Magnum she called it. As the afternoon went on, she taught me how to use my charms to get what I wanted, how to turn people against each other with only a couple of words. She gave a new outfit to wear, a vest, a pair of black pants, and a black hat that she called a 'cowboy' hat. She gave me the .44 Magnum before leading me back to Salem, who taught me how to take a hit, and how to get back up stronger than before. Both teachers didn't pull their punches, so I quickly learned to fight back without magic, using my wits to survive the brutal training. The training didn't just include me, Kirche and Tabitha were also put through the same gruelling training as I, and so by the end of the day we were all tired and bruised. As I went to sleep, I felt a strange sense of belonging, like I had finally found a home here and with that, sleep claimed me.

….

Salem POV

As I sent messengers to the shady townships in the area I had a couple of them return with strange letters addressed to me. My men told me that they were from other nations; four to be precise. Each was on the outskirts of the world, but all four had wanted to meet with me.

The one that came to me first was from a country known as the Holy Empire of Ba'alrazim. They are a nation in the middle of the desert, near the Elvish country of Nephthys. They are one of the oldest nations in the world, but they had faded into infighting and bickering for over several centuries, having them fade into obscurity; until now anyways. Their leader is Abd al Hakim, otherwise known as the Iron Prophet. He is a visionary, leading his people through faith and higher learning; but that doesn't mean that they were pushovers in combat mind you; they completely decimated their opponents, converting all to their religion; the Cult of Rebirth, where they wait for the rebirth of their great prophet. Something tells me that if they are wanted to ally themselves with me, it must be important.

The Vagi'maki Underempire is a dark empire born from blood magic and necromancy. Vampires are the ruling body, warping flesh and soul alike to bend them to their will. The interesting thing about the ruling body is that they are all female. They rule with sadistic tempers and a love of experimenting on all life, making it pleasing to their eyes. They use their twisted science and dark to create horrifying creatures and weapons. This twisted empire is ruled by Lamia Ebonheart, a macabre Vampire, she has ruled those lands for centuries, and seeing as she is probably one of the most powerful sorceresses on the planet, she'll be here to stay. They usually deem other life forms, males more than most to be lesser to them. So the fact that they even sent a messenger means that I should heed their herald.

The Valkovian Confederacy is an alliance of the many groups within the frozen wasteland known to the rest of the world as Valkovia. They had been pushed back by the armies of Tristain many centuries ago, and many a warlord there had been wanting to get even with them ever since Their armies use black powder weapons combined with their religious figures; making metal Valkyries to lead their warriors into battle. They have mastered their metalworks, none can make a blade better then them. Their current overlord is Sigrud the Massive; a brutal tyrant who has an intense hatred for any form of civilization, he has a love of arson, setting any form of Tristainian architecture ablaze, usually with said occupants still inside. His wrath is well known to many kings and rulers, so I should probably hear what he has to say.

Malkavania; nothing more to add, a former penal colony turned powerhouse; this nation of terror made its name known by its extremely dangerous residents. The colony had been abandoned by the nations of the world, who for years had sent their criminals to rot. The only ships that went there were shipments of food and more guardsmen; said guardsmen were probably more brutal than the prisoners themselves, practically starving them to death while they feasted upon all the food. The prisoners were united by the first inmates of the island; their leader being a man known to the rest of the world only as Doomeater. His crimes were many, cannibalism being the most heinous. He sacrificed bits of his soul for power, twisting him into a nigh immortal being. Under his leadership, necromancers and wicked covens of witches flourished, growing more and powerful. Their armies are wicked ghouls, demonic war engines and their cruel spellcasters. No one had heard from the county in several centuries, but their resurgence into the modern world makes me eager to meet them.

After hearing all my messengers and spies had to tell, I told them to go to the nations and give them my answer; I shall accept their terms and I am ready to meet them.

Leaning back on my chair, I begin to grin

" _And here I thought this place would be boring. Let the party begin!"_

…

Jane POV

I walked down the dark halls, simply revelling in the simple fact of being alive again. It was strange, being able to breathe again, feeling the wind on my face. I smirked when I remembered the red headed mage that I'll soon have in the palm of my hand.

" _She'll be perfect when I'm through with her. She'll be mine to control, to use, and she will serve me."_

I am broken out of my thoughts when I hear a noise; whirling around with my Shishkebab drawn. At the end of the hall, I see a cloaked figure creeping towards Louise's room.

"SALEM!"

I yell, and within seconds, he burst out of his room with his chainsaw at the ready. The cloaked figure tried to run, but Salem charged forwards, howling at the top of his lungs, making the figure stumble and fall, revealing the figure's face for all to see.

She was a purple haired girl with blue eyes and a friendly face. Said face was now completely terrified at her situation.

"Who the hell are you!?"

Salem growled, hoisting the intruder up and into the wall, holding her there. The intruder looked at us with wide eyes, and a gaping mouth. She tried talking, but an unintelligible babble came out instead of actual words. Before any of us could do anything further, we heard a voice.

"Henrietta!"

Louise bolted to where the intruder was, ordering Salem to drop him. As soon as she hit the ground, Louise wrapped her in a hug, holding the girl close. This scene went on for a moment too long; at least, not unless something else was going on…

" _I didn't know Louise swung that way"_

I remark to myself, and begin to smile, let the teasing begin!

…

Salem POV

I look down at the odd scene in front of me, and needless to say, I was confused. Louise doesn't show that kind of emotion for anyone, so this girl in her arms must have been something special. I begin to drink some whiskey when I hear Jane whisper into my ear.

"Which one do you think is the screamer?"

I do a spit take, the alcohol burning my nose as it came out. I look at Jane again, not sure if she was serious or not; but judging by her expression, she wasn't joking. She looked at me with an expression that compelled me to answer.

"Well, if I had to guess, I'm thinking that Louise would be rather…explosive if she ever got down to it."

Jane chuckles, her mind racing with whatever slightly unsettling fantasies came to her. She had a fascination that bordered on obsession over her version of perfection, that and her "toys", those things scared me more than any Deathclaw or Super Mutant Behemoth ever could.

Louise looked at Jane with a strange look on her face. The two girls simply stared at each other in a manner that could only be described as deadly. I decided to break the contest of wills by speaking up.

"So Louise, who's your friend here?"

I try sounding jovial, but the two women wouldn't stop giving each other the death glare. By now, Kirche and Tabitha wandered into the hallway, each looking sleepy. Tabitha had an old fashioned sleeping cap, while Kirche had something that in the loosest of terms could have been called sleepwear. I could practically see through it from across the hall, her form being quite easy to see. Deciding to continue drinking my whiskey, I watched as Lousie finally let the purple haired girl go, helping her up before turning to me.

"She's the princess"

She said simply, like she expected us to fall to our knees and beg for forgiveness; if she was, she was going to be disappointed.

"Good for her. But here, she's an intruder in my home, she was found sneaking through the halls about to enter your room Louise. This doesn't look good for her I'm afraid, royalty or not, she must know not to break into a convicted murderer and a cannibal's estate."

While talking, I start leaning towards the two girls, looking them in the eyes.

"So, why are you here? Because in my eyes, I see only two things here; one being you were here to kill dear Louise here, and the other, from the little display I just saw, you two might have wanted to get a bit closer then 'just friends'"

The girls are silent as they process my words, than, almost at the same time as my words finally make sense to them.

"W-what are you saying!?"

Louise sputters out, her face a dark crimson. The princess also had a blush, though not as deep, almost like she was subtly agreeing with the statement.

I'm about to answer Louise, but Jane shoots forwards and wraps the girls in a hug, surprising everyone, me included.

"It's so sweet isn't it? The whole star crossed lovers thing?"

Jane said, a dreamy look on her face. I was confused, as she had never seemed to be the romantic type to me; but I ignored it, as the look on the girl's faces was hilarious! They had mixed looks of confusion and embarrassment on their faces. I chuckle at their faces while I begin walking towards the dining hall.

"Where are you going?"

I hear Louise call, running after me, the others following close behind.

"Well, since we're up, I might as well make myself a snack, y'all want something? I know Jane will probably want some wine."

We sat at the massive table, and after a while, Henrietta told us why she was here.

"I have heard of your exploits, as well as the fact that Louise is your master, and I have come to ask you for help. No one can know that I am here, it is as you said, you are a murderer and a wild card for most nobility. Many of the nobility would wish to kill you, but they are not stupid enough to attack you directly, as many heard about what you did to the Gramont family as well as your assault on the Mott Estate. I have a job for you."

She looks around the room, seeing that Kirche and Tabitha had joined us as well, and continues talking.

"My cousin Wales is trapped in a siege. He and his troops are under attack by the Reconquestia."

She pauses upon seeing my confused look, sighing, she explains

"The Reconquestia are a group of rebels that seek to overthrow the Crown. They are a group of nobles that want to unite the entirety of this country to begin a Holy War against the Elves. They are zealots and cannot be bargained with. Lately however, they have new weapons; strange cannons that are far more powerful than anything we have. Strange knights wearing armour we have never seen before have been leading groups of peasants and mages into battle, their weapons tearing through our forces. They are currently besieging Newcastle; a loyalist stronghold; within its walls hold many prisoners and heretics awaiting execution. I ask that you assist in the defeat of the Reconquestia forces and to make sure my cousin is safe."

I look at Jane, who has a worried look on her face; I share the same sentiment as many ideas go through my mind.

" _Brotherhood perhaps? Who else has enough Power Armour to do this? The only other group that had that much tech was the Enclave, but they were blown to Hell thanks to Jane"_

I break out my stupor to carry on with business

"We wish to be paid"

Louise looks at me, appalled by my answer

"Salem!"

She barks, only to shut up when Jane steps forwards; a look of warning on her face.

"We wish to be paid in men and supplies. My men are currently holding the Mott Estate, so I am a little short on manpower. I request that I be allowed to take what I want from Newcastle when the siege has been lifted."

Louise looks at me, a look of understanding on her face. The princess nodded

"It shall be done. Take this; it will let my cousin know that you are there under my orders"

She tosses me a ring; it sported a massive blue jewel, it seemed to reflect the lights in the room.

"One last thing, a bodyguard will be given to Louise as extra protection, not that you can't do the job"

She adds quickly

"The man's name is Wardes."

Disgust fills me; Jane has a look of anger on her face; as I had told her all about _that_ little detail about this world's society.

"I refuse to work with that rotten pedophile!"

I roar, slamming my fist on the table, startling Henrietta.

"If that man so much as looks at Louise, I will castrate him and carve out his eyes"

I hear Jane spit out, her Shishkebab already out with the blade flaming.

"It's too late, he's already on his way here, I'm sorry."

Henrietta said, looking at us with fear in her eyes; Jane looked at me, and we shared the same idea; get rid of the man, and our trouble is taken care of.

"Fine. Anyways, who wants some wine?"

I hear Jane say, holding up a couple bottles of wine in the air. One of the good things that the Gramonts had in their estate was a massive wine cellar. The tense mood quickly went away as the alcohol did its work, and soon, even Louise was extremely tipsy, as Jane had pressured her into drinking copious amounts of alcohol, much to Jane's amusement. Soon, Louise staggered off to her room, Henrietta following close behind. I noticed that once Henrietta entered Louise's room, she didn't leave.

" _Huh, Louise always was a bit tightly wound, I guess tonight might…loosen her up a bit"_

I muse to myself, as the wine made my vision a bit blurry. The last thing I remembered was Jane pulling me into our room, before everything went black. It was a good night, if only other people were sharing that joy.

….

3rd Person POV

Newcastle

"Incoming!"

"The bastards are coming back!"

Prince Wales Tudor; royal mage of Albion was in between a rock and a hard place. The Reconquestia's army had been sieging his forces inside the keep of Newcastle for a solid week, each attack wearing down the weary defenders. The attackers had new weapons; guns that fired green bolts of magic that melted through knight armour and flesh alike, strange objects that spewed fire, and hammers that decimated a calvary charge with a single swing. But it was the knights leading the charges that terrified his forces the most; they were massive beings, covered in grey armour with yellow fire burning from their eyes. His forces couldn't get close enough to do any real damage as they were cut down by the strange guns the knights carried; they tore his men apart, as they were either ripped limb from limb or they dissolved into ashes or piles of green sludge. Their artillery decimated his forces, their range far outmatched his own, and he was running out of supplies.

"Brimir preserve us, here they come again!"

The night was a symphony of bullets and artillery shells; in short, it was not a silent or a peaceful night for the defenders of Newcastle.

….

Louise POV

I woke up in my bed with a massive headache, something Salem called a hangover; it felt more like my head was being crushed in an Iron Maiden. I try to open my eyes, but blinding pain was my reward. As I keep my eyes closed, I try to remember what had happened last night. The last things I could remember doing was drinking a lot of wine, and going to bed.

" _But why am I still so tired?"_

I think to myself, rolling over in my sheets; only to feel someone else in the bed with me.

I froze, slowly opening one eye to look on in horror when I saw Henrietta lying next to me!

She opens her eyes, and they widened upon seeing me

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Both of us leapt backwards, falling out of the bed, which I noticed that the sheets were not as dry as I had originally thought.

" _What had happened-oh Brimir!"_

Mentally I scream, as the realization of what had transpired the night before rushed back to me. I close my eyes, waiting to hear Henrietta start screaming and ranting at me, but what happened next surprised me, when I opened my eyes I saw that Henrietta was smiling happily at me, her face one of a joy long held back.

"I had wanted to do that for a long time, Jane was right Louise, you really are a screamer"

She smirked before walking over to me and quicker than I could follow; kissed me on the lips before walking out of the room; leaving me sputtering and stuttering, my mind completely taken off guard by this chain of events.

It took a while, but I managed to pull myself together and join the rest of the group in the dining hall, except to find that Kirche and Tabitha were not there. Jane said that they decided to stay here at the estate. Shrugging, we began our march out to the carriage, now decorated with blades and spikes to discourage any would be brigands. As we exited the estate grounds, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen at the siege; what could we do against so many soldiers? Salem and Jane seemed quite excited at the thought of taking on the army, but I was worried. I saw their response at Wardes, so I shudder at what they would do when they met him.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when I hear a shout from Salem. Looking outside I saw a man on a manticore flying in front of the carriage, sword and wand drawn. Salem has his gun out, and Jane had the Shishkebab out was well.

" _This is bad"_

I think to myself, if only I knew.

…

Salem POV

The man riding the winged beast in front of me had the look of smugness that I've come to expect from the nobility here, but something else was there too; a darkness in his eyes that reminded me too much like traitors and turncoats that I've seen in my life; this man had something to hide. And judging by Louise's face, this was Wardes, the man her folks forced her to be engaged to; that ends today.

"Hold fiends! You have Lousie in that carriage; release her to me to face the might of a noble!"

The grey haired jackass yelled with his weapons at the ready. I pull out Annabelle and aim it at his flying beast.

"Nice try asshole, she's with us by choice! She told me everything about you, and I have to say as her Familiar and one of the few people that showed her anything resembling affection; you can take your nobility and shove it up your ass!"

The man on the beast sneered at me, before swooping down at me, his sword raised ready to decapitate me. Raising Liberator, I parry the attack, leaping onto the beast, and chopping its head off in a single strike thanks to me finding a weak bit in its armour. We landed hard on the ground, covered in the black blood of the beast: I grabbed the man by the throat, and look him in the eye, surprised to see a large amount of fear in his eyes.

"You're the madman who dares call himself a noble"

He leers at me, his eyes flipping from fear to rage in an instant. Smirking, I decide to drop the news on him.

"By the way, your so called bride to be doesn't want to marry you, and with my permission as her new guardian, the marriage is broken. And something else I should tell you; the Princess beat you to having a fun time with Louise"

His eyes widened, almost popping out of his head, but before he could say anything, I headbutted him in the nose, breaking it. As he grunted, I smashed his head against my knee, knocking him out. Throwing him to the side of the road and harvesting his flying beast, I was about to get back in the carriage when I saw Louise walk out of the carriage and towards the unconscious man. She glares at the man, and spits on him

"Pig"

She snarled at the man, clenching her fists and stomping back to the carriage. We set off again, not wanting to delay our mission anymore than we needed to. As we barrelled down the road I heard Jane chuckle; looking over at Jane, I saw that she was smirking; it wasn't her normal coy smirk either, this was an "I know something that you don't" smirk.

I decide to wait before asking her what was so funny, so I crack the reins and start to go out again before asking her why she was smiling.

"No reason; but if anyone asks you didn't hear this from me."

She leans in and whispers to me like its one giant conspiracy.

"You know how you didn't see the two girls this morning? Well, let's just say that I gave them a personal tour of my labs; specifically the Auto Doc I had managed to jury-rig into working. Those girls should be having shock collars grafted into their bodies as we speak. I'll be doing more...invasive procedures at a later date; after all, the human body can only handle so much modification in one sitting."

I look at her, surprised at she moved this quickly and by the fact that she had the time to do this. I was broken out of my thoughts when I hear Jane gasp. Wondering what the matter was, I looked up, only to be amazed at the sight before me. It was a simple port, but there were flying ships that were docking and trading goods, and in the far distance I could see a floating island; that must be Albion.

"Albion"

I hear Lousie say, the statement confirming my thoughts.

"I know our orders are for us to find a place to stay for the night and to go out in the morning, but we should go now before anyone tries to tail us."

The group agreed with me, and we set off to find a ship that was going to NewCastle. The ship we had found had the royal flag on its mast; the captain let us on when I presented the ring Henrietta had given me. The ship was clearly made for getting people to places quickly, as it had next to no weapons for protection. The captain of the ship was hostile towards us at first but quickly changed his tune once he saw the fancy ring that we were given. We set off straight away for NewCastle as it would be a long trip.

I looked over at Louise, she looked nervous; with the magnum at her side and her cowboy hat on her head she looked like a little bandit. She had an odd look on her face, but not one that I'm unfamiliar with; pre battle jitters. Walking over to me she starts talking to me in an attempt to calm herself down. Once and while I saw Jane looking at the clouds that were floating around us; the look of wonder on her face brought a chuckle to my mind. We decided to pack it in for the night, for tomorrow blood shall be flowing.

...

3rd Person POV

NewCastle was burning. The defenders were only barely holding on to their meager holding. The enemy knights had being decimating all who stood before them and at every place that they held they planted a strange flag; it wasn't like anything anyone had seen before. It was a large and tattered flag; coloured red, white and blue with stars at the top left of the flag. Wales Tudor was still standing, leading the ragged defenders against the enemy; but he had lost much in the last assault, including his entire left arm. Despite his grievous injuries he fought on, killing many of the invaders, even a couple of the strange knights tell to his raging winds. But alas, it was not enough to turn the tide in the defenders favour. For every one of the invaders that fell, five of the defenders died. Soon, the defenders had been pushed to the Great Hall of NewCastle; a fortress in its own right, its doors had held back invaders time and time again. But this time, the defenders knew that it would be the last. The invaders had pulled back for the night, camping outside the massive doors, as all knew they couldn't go anywhere, even if they managed to break through their lines, the defenders would have to fight through the army entrenched outside. In short, it was going to be Hell either way. Wales knew that it was only a matter of time before the enemy broke through, but until that time, he would fight until his dying breath.

...

Former Gramont Estate (Current Salem Estate)

Dungeons

Kirche had woken up in pure agony; the feeling of hot metal being welded into her skin. She tried to stay awake, but she kept fading in and out of awareness, and each time she woke up the pain was worse. After what felt like forever, she woke up in a cell, a cold piece of metal on her neck and a heavy feeling in her head. As she looked outside of the bars of her cell, she could see many forms in more cells; some were dead or dismembered, while others were clearly still alive as they trashed around, screaming their lungs out. The reek of blood was everywhere, as well as the sounds of metal striking metal. Over the din she could just barely make out strange inhuman shapes working on an assembly line of some kind. As sparks flew around the room, Kirche could see large bags of red liquid being suspended in the air; more was being added with each passing moment.

" _Is that...blood!?"_

Kirche mentally screamed, her mind lurching at the grisly scene around her. As she tried to come to terms with her situation, she sat down on her cot which someone had been kind enough to leave out; and began to weep.

...

This chapter down!

Next Chapter: The Siege of NewCastle!

Thanks for reading everyone, but before you go click off this tab or whatever it is you people do after you finished an ongoing online story; I have something to tell you. My first story on this site; Zero's Caster is up for adoption. I can no longer continue the story as I do not have the time to keep it going. I'll be taking it off my channel, but if you, or if you know anyone who would want to continue writing it, feel free to PM me so that no one will rip your digital face off for what they think is copyright infringement or what have you.

The next few chapters will be getting darker and bloodier as things go on. I've been getting help from Vlad Tempest and Thanatos413 for ideas and where to take the story, so it'll be getting progressively darker as the story goes on, as Fallout has never been a friendly to begin with, and with this particular cast of characters, it'll have to get darker.

And as always, love, hate, any feedback at all, please PM me as I can respond personally.

Stay classy, stay awesome and have a lovely day.


	6. Hellish Reality

Hellish Reality

Hello everybody, it's me Doomeater with another chapter of Cannibal of Zero; this one is going to be the bloodiest so far, and it will be graphic, so you have been warned. I hope you enjoy.

I own nothing

…

Salem POV

As our ship flew to Newcastle, I started thinking about the upcoming fight.

" _From the sounds of things, this Reconquestia is a group that wants to overthrow the Crown, or at least gain their independence. Maybe I could talk to their leader. But the main thing that is troubling me at the moment is those strange knights; it's obvious that they have Power Armour and lots of it, it won't be simple thugs that we'll have to deal with, it'll thugs in Power Armour which is never easy."_

My musing is broken by hearing footsteps behind me, turning around I see that it's Louise, a very tired and bedheaded Louise, but it's her.

"What's the matter?" I ask, wondering why she's up so early, it's the literally the crack of dawn so she must have a pretty good reason to be up.

"Seeing as how we're about to be in a siege battle I have to ask, what is killing someone like?" She asked, her voice uncertain and reluctant in where she stood in this conversation. She reminded of some of the children in Legion camps, they were used to seeing death, but they were not used to actually committing the act. Looking her dead in the eyed, I decide to tell her the truth, no bullshit.  
"It makes you feel like you have power, like nothing can stop you; it is like a drug high, but you always have to come down. That's when the doubt and remorse comes in for most people. Even back home people dealt with that despite the fact that so many people died every day, the sane people dealt with second thoughts and what if moments. People like Jane and myself don't have such qualms, as they were burned, beaten and shot out of us a long time ago; and something tells me that you might be on that same path."

She looks at me, emotions conflicting on her face; but before she could say anything, Jane walked up onto the deck, already dressed for battle. Oddly, she never bothered to wear armour, she only wore her red dress when marched to war; most people back home would see that as suicide, and since she was a ruler, most people would be gunning for her; she told me stories of people travelling from all over to try to kill her. Once when she and I were working together, a group of strange mercenaries attacked us, after killing all save one we learned that they were part of a group called Gunners from the Commonwealth of Boston, their armour was very well made, which we put to good use. They didn't taste half bad either, a bit salty though.

Putting aside the old memories, I looked over the side of the ship and saw Newcastle, well what remained of it. Massive sections of the foundations were on fire, massive piles of corpses were piled up in massive burial mounds and I saw a flag that brought back many bad memories; the Enclave.

"Bastards don't die do they?" I hear Jane scoff upon seeing the flag. Pulling out Annabelle, I start grinning.

"What's so funny?" I hear Louise ask as she pulls out her Magum.

"Killing Enclave soldiers is my favourite pass time that's right up there with slaughtering Legion troops, it never gets old" I smirk, and I tell the captain to go full speed into the enemy army.

"Are you crazy!? Hell no!" He yelled, he looked at us with anger that disappeared once we threw him over the side with dynamite strapped to his chest.

"What will that do?" Jane asked, slight confusion in her voice as she looked at the falling man who was screaming bloody murder.

"Nothing much, but I find it hilarious" I chuckle to myself, already imagining everyone's reaction upon seeing this thing smashing straight into them. My amusement was broken when I saw a very troubling sight; Howitzers. Those devastating artillery pieces were used by the Boomers of Nellis Air Force Base and the Legion to wreak havoc upon NCR, tribals or me; anything or anyone that got within reach of their massive guns were blown to bits, well except me but they were close. The invaders had around a dozen Howitzers spread out around the enemy lines and many mercenaries and regular soldiers that crowded around cooking fires. Standing apart from the regular forces stood the forces that I feared to be alive; there were dozens of people in Power Armour sporting laser rifles, plasma pistols, and a couple Super Sledges to boot. That was all I could see by using V.A.T.S. It didn't look good, the fact that there were so many of the buggers down there means that something big is going on here; I don't know how they got here, and I don't care. They're in my way and I'll them all if that what's it takes. Grabbing the ships wheel, I tell everyone to grab onto something, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. Look out down below here we come!

….

3rd Person POV

The tension in Newcastle was tense to be generous; the enemy army was just outside the defenders gates, waiting for the strange knights to break down the main hall door and slaughter the last remnants of resistance that remained inside the castle. The mood was broken by a strange sight; an airship. Usually, such a sight would not be unusual, but the odd thing was that it seemed to be headed straight towards the enemy army. Many foot soldiers panicked, trying to flee; others aimed catapults at the suicidal airship. But it was to no avail, the ship crashed straight into the bulk of the army, causing chaos to ensue. In the din of chaos and pain, no one noticed the group of three slipping through the ranks, killing and making their way towards the main gates of Newcastle, here is where things get interesting.

….

Louise POV

We landed with a massive thud, sending me tumbling forwards only being caught by Jane. With a nod, we ran straight into the enemy lines, using our small group to slip through soldiers, literally when Salem and Jane went to work, hacking through flesh and bone like it was nothing. Soon, we found ourselves at the grate that would lead through the sewers into the heart of Newcastle itself.

"Do we have to go in there? It smells" I say, almost gagging on the smell, it was so potent I could taste it. The two warlords simply smirked to each other, and we began our march through the sewers, rats lived on piles of rotted wood, piles of sewage and things I didn't want to know about floated around in fetid greenish water, finally we found a worn door that would lead to the heart of Newastle.

Jane began picking at the lock with Salem guarding her back. I was on lookout duty, looking for anyone that might have seen us walk in here and wandered this way to investigate. The lock was taking a while, if the curses were anything to go by, when I saw a single guard wander towards me, a half full flagon of beer sloshing in his left hand with a sword held clumsily in the other. He paused when he saw me, and I held my breath, grabbing my Magnum and drawing my wand. Belching, the guard lurched forwards, a half-assed war cry coming out of him; stepping backwards I take a shot off, the kick making me step backwards half a pace. The shot had missed anything vital, catching the man in the shoulder, making him rock slightly to his left before continuing his bull rush towards me; I fire another shot, clipping him in the side, the impact causes him to curse loudly before closing in on me. He hit me across the face, sending me stumbling in the wall. Grabbing my wand, I look up to see the guard raising his sword above his head. The man's eyes were bloodshot and full of bloodlust, and as the blade came down time seemed to slow down as I saw the blade closing down on my head, fear freezing my blood and making my heart jump and skip in my chest.

"F-fireball!" I yelled, and for half a second nothing happened, then a massive flash of heat sent the guard flying into the wall across from me; the stench of burned meat assaulted my nose and when I looked up at the thing that used to be a man, I screamed, the image burning itself inside my brain for the rest of my life.

The burned thing that was lying on the wall across from me could not be called a man, or even a corpse; merely a pile of blackened bones and charred entrails. They were sprawled on the filthy ground like discarded rope; seared blood had hardened to a black crust around the pile of human remains. What remained of the face was peeled back into a ghastly mockery of a smile, the eyes blackened and popped, the skull being seen through the crumbling flesh, showing me the ivory bone beneath. The skull itself was cracked; showing me a burned lump that used to be a brain poking through the small opening the cracked head casing had created. Looking upon the grisly scene before me, bile and vomit rose and spewed out of my mouth, adding to the disgusting mess around me.

"What have I done?" I whisper to myself, turning away from pile of human waste before me and running back to Salem and Jane; who had both drawn their weapons and ran into me.

"What happened? Are you alright?" They said in unison, their voices merging together, looks of concern on their faces. Pointing down the hall, the warlords look over and see my handiwork; and without a word, they embraced me. It was like a dam broke, and tears came pouring out of my eyes, soaking my shirt.

"It'll be alright, you'll be ok" I hear Jane mutter to me, holding me close while I let everything out. Salem had pulled away, walking over to the mess and throwing it into the brackish water, where it sank from view. Walking back towards us, he kicked the door open with a grunt.

"Sorry to break this up, but we have to go." He said, apologetically. Nodding, reloaded my Magnum; feeling a rush of emotions rush through me, but I knew I couldn't let myself be distracted by them, not now.

" _Rule of Steel"_ I reminded myself, taking a deep breath; and then I was ready for the battle to come, whatever that means, I'll be ready.

….

Salem POV

As soon as we entered Newcastle, I saw bodies. Some had arrows or crossbow bolts sticking out of them, others were hacked to pieces, but it was the more exotic deaths that caught my attention; they were familiar. Bullet holes had riddled the walls; the smell of scorched walls and flesh was everywhere. I saw a maid with a fire axe smashed straight through her skull, ending at the base of her neck with blood gurgling out of the wound. Many more bodies had been hit so hard into the walls they now resemble paste that had been smushed into the corridor by an angry child. As we continued down the hallway, we could peer into the other rooms that had hinges had been blown off by a frag grenade if the debris could be trusted. Several corpses were inside the rooms, some being the defenders, judging by their crests, while others were the invaders. Turning one of the invaders over, I could see what he looked like; this one was young, maybe twenty years old. His chest had been torn apart by a battleaxe that had been hacked into his chest, a bloody sword in one hand and a broken shield in the other; pieces of said shield were lodged in his chest, so the battleaxe must have broken the shield right before it killed the boy. The carnage didn't stop there however; more of them were staggered through the hall and in some places it was like walking on a carpet of death.

Bodies impaled on spears were shoved deep into the walls, far deeper than a normal human can do, Enclave soldiers most likely. That thought was confirmed by an Enclave symbol was carved into a wall with several bodies laying around it, some defenders, while some were the invaders. All had bullet wounds on their bodies, that part confused me.

" _The Enclave, or whomever claims to be the Enclave is working with the Reconquestia, so why are they executing invaders as well as the defenders?"_

My confusion was stalled when we were turning around a corner it was then that we saw a corpse in Power Armour. The man had been lynched; the Enclave flag on a pole had been pushed through his helmet and into his skull, bits of brain and skull had hardened into a ghastly paste around the point of entry. The words "the price of disobedience" had been written on a small sign hanging off of his chest, the sign itself was bloodied by several fingerprints. The Power Armour was the Hellfire, an Enclave exclusive set. Walking towards the dead man, I opened up the Power Armour, the mangled cadaver falling out with a wet plop. Waste not want not after all. After getting in the suit, I checked the systems.

" _Everything's in order here, this is actual Enclave gear. So, somehow those bastards are here as well, I better not have to worry about more old friends coming to visit."_ I think to myself, discarding the shattered helmet so I could wear my own war helm. Pulling out my chainsaw, we kept moving. The further inside the keep we went, the more bodies we saw until we heard fighting. Rushing towards the sounds, we found the remainders of the defenders fighting against a small army of invaders.

The once massive doors of the Great Hall had been either opened from inside as a final stand, or they had been blasted in by the invaders. Makeshift barriers had been put together by both sides, all ranging in size and quality; some were made from pieces of the Great Hall, others made from chunks of marble taken from the shattered pieces of the floor. But the most disturbing ones were those made from the dead; large piles of corpses formed barricades so the invaders could shoot at the defenders with crossbows and the odd fireball. A massive ring of dead invaders was right outside the entrance to the Great Hall, and there stood the ragged defenders; there was around a dozen men left; all had wounds, some were small like the odd cut, while some hand entire limbs missing, relying on makeshift peg legs to stand on. The man leading them was young and blonde; although his once good looks were scared and burned and he had lost his left arm. From the description Henrietta gave us, this was the Prince Wales Tudor; his eyes were hard and slightly shell shocked, like he had been through hell and lived to tell the tale. His wand was at his side and a large bloody axe and taken its place, and judging by the small mountain of hacked corpses surrounding him, he had put the weapon to good use. I pull out the Fat Man, raining atomic death upon the invaders, turning many to paste before going to close quarters with my chainsaw, followed quickly by Jane with her Shishkebab and Louise with her Magnum and wand at the ready, blasting men aside with her magic or getting killing shots with her gun. Most of the invaders were simple thugs or bandits, so they scattered quickly once the tide of the battle turned against them. But the zealot soldiers of the Reconquestia still charged towards us, not caring if they lived or died.

" _Sounds like raiders, at least those guys had an excuse for being stupid. I'll just put these idiots out of their misery."_ I thought, grinning behind my skull helm, and I charged forwards, my Power Armour easily deflecting their swords and axes, while I gutted them wildly, sending guts flying through the air, landing their fellows feet. Hearing a warcry, I watched as Prince Wales rallied his battered troops for a charge, roaring at the top of their lungs, using their blades to cut down any who got close, guns to form a barricade of the dead, or those that had magic had a field day, blasting enemies apart; looks of bloodlust on their faces. It didn't take long for our combined efforts to put those that didn't run six feet deep; as we would not take prisoners. Louise executed a couple of the enemy herself, using her gun as it was intended. Her once eyes innocent eyes had a darker cast to them, it was the eyes I had seen in new NCR troopers or the Legionaries that are pitted against each other, determination and fear.

After the battle, the remaining defenders went back into the main hall to regroup and tend to their wounds. While we were sitting near the ruins of the Main Hall, Wales Tudor walked up to us, flanked on either side by a small group of the defenders; all had their weapons within easy grabbing distance, not completely hostile, but still giving me the message of "screw with us, and you'll be pushing up daises". One of his eyes was milky, and his face was covered in scar tissue. He glanced at the ring on Louise's finger and his one good eye widened, gesturing for us to follow him. We followed him through the small hallways until we came to a large room; closing the door behind us.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, his voice frantic. "The Princess gave it to me, saying we were looking for you" Louise replied, looking more than a bit uneasy at the Prince's behaviour and his wounds weren't treated very well. His good eye was bloodshot, and there were all the signs of malnutrition and sleep deprivation, add his mistreated wounds, he'll probably die painfully from infection and starvation; there was nothing we could do for him save giving him something to ease the pain when he finally keeled over. The Prince handed me a letter, it was crumpled and had some blood stains on the sides.

"This is for Henrietta, it'll explain everything. I know I'm not getting out of this one alive; so I'm giving this to you so you can give it to her."

I accept the letter, and I could tell that the prince was going to say more, but a scream from outside quickly drew all of us outside the gates of Newcastle and out to the open field; and I felt something akin to disbelief and a hint of fear. A small mountain of bodies were strewn across the western half of the army, and I couldn't believe my eyes; a Deathclaw; a motherfucking Deathclaw!

"You've got to be kidding me!" I roar, drawing Annabelle and hoisting it over my shoulder, firing at the Deathclaw, but the sheer amount of men took the brunt of the weapon's damage, merely pissing it off. Arrows from the enemy army bounced off the hide of the mutated beast, and it felled many men with a single swipe. I heard the thunder of hooves, and a band of cavalry charged towards the Deathclaw, lances extended, a harsh battlecry could be heard, but as soon as it left their lips, it was replaced by the sounds of slaughter and tearing meat. I heard a thundering crack as the Howitzers launched a volley towards the beast, not caring how many of their own forces were caught in the cross fire. After the smoke cleared, the beast lay dead, but the questions remained; how did it get here, are there any more?

My thoughts were cut off by a familiar looking jackass walking through the corpses; Wardes, his cloak was torn, his hat was missing, and a sneer was on his face. At his sides were several spearmen, their spears lifted at us. Behind me, I felt the remainder of the prince's forces come up behind us, their crossbows and muskets readied. The air was chilled and tense as the moments stretched into an eternity.

I don't know who fired first, but frankly, I don't care. The moment snapped back into reality as arrows and musket balls sailed in to their respective targets, arrows sailed past us and into the prince's men. Charging forwards, Louise, Jane and I met the nearby enemy forces head on, using our magic and weapons respectively to cut a bloody swath through the foes. I looked to my left and saw Jane gutting some of the poor suckers who got close to her, their torched entrails filling the air with the smell of blood. To my left, Louise was busy unloading her Magnum into the enemy host; the good thing about being completely outnumbered but having the enemy in a chokepoint; you can't miss, regardless of your aim. Her fireballs and explosions were doing their lethal jobs as well, and several men lay dying or dead with burns all over their bodies. Annabelle sent the corpses to be sailing in the air, bones exposed to the open air, shattered limbs being excellent shrapnel. In short, the battlefield was a symphony of blood, death and chaos; it almost felt like home.

I heard a grunt over to my right and looked over to see the Prince with a blade through his chest; and that bastard Wardes was the owner of said blade, a smirk on his face. Whirling around I saw Louise's eyes widen, and then narrow into bloodshot slits, and an unholy sneer contorted her face into a mask I saw often on Raiders once Pyscho hit; and it was still blood curdling no matter how many times I see it. While Jane and I rushed forwards to keep the invaders busy, Louise walked over to Wardes, her weapons out, and murder in her eyes. I could only smirk as I turned back to the task at hand; Louise is going to make the next step towards freeing herself from her shackles, and killing that jackass is a good first step.

…

Louise POV

"Come here you bastard" I growl, seeing only red as I approached my former fiancé. He charged towards me, a look of hate on his face

"If I can't have you, no one will!" he screeched, the face I once saw as handsome was twisted and contorted into a mask of hideousness and hate. Pressed against the side of the shattered gate was the body of Prince Wales Tudor, and for the first time he had a look of peace on his mangled face. His troops were still fighting, looks of hate etched on their faces, despite the overwhelming numbers that they faced, they fought on, for every one of them that fell, a dozen of the enemy died as well. I turned back to charging nobleman in front of me. His fencing blade was bloodied and his wand was at his side, already blasting gusts of wind to close the distance between us. I raised my gun and fired off a round towards Wardes, but he raised his wand and shot a gust of wind to send the bullet off course, where it slammed into the dirt, making it useless. I launched an explosion at him, hoping to put him off balance, and it worked, well, slightly. The explosion sent him off balance, but it did no real damage. Grabbing a knife that was on the ground, I charge towards him, hoping to end this quickly. Wardes got back to his feet rather quickly, backhanding me across the face, sending me stumbling back, but Salem's training kicked in, and I rolled forwards, kicking him the knee, and I grinned when I heard something crunch under my foot.

Grunting, Wardes was about to send his blade into my back when I used my knife to stab his leg; causing him to scream and drop to one knee. Standing back up I was about the shove the knife straight through his arrogant head when he sent me flying with a blast of wind, dazing me and making my vision blurry. I was a good ways away from everyone else now, but I could hear Wardes getting closer, a smirk on his face. I scrambled to where my Magnum was lying next to me, and open fired; one of the bullets hit him in the side, causing him to grunt before he reached me.

"To think that the Reconquestia considers you a threat! A waste of skin and a failure!" He hissed at me, and kicked me in the side. Pain shot through my body like molten steel, and I gasped as my breath was taken from me. He kicked me twice more, each worse than the last. Through my pain, I could dimly hear Wardes continuing to mock me.

"To think that you were rumoured to be a Void Mage, merely because you summoned a madman; a fluke, nothing more. You are, and will always be a Zero!" He spat at me; and in that moment, something snapped. Years of resentment, anger and shame finally sent a blazing fire slamming into my body, and I tackled Wardes to the ground and began to slam his head against the ground, over and over again until I heard something crunch. Roaring, Wardes threw me off him, and roared into a strange device on his arm.

"Fire a volley onto the bitch! I don't care how close I am! Do it!" He screams. For a moment, there was an eerie silence, the sounds of battle seemed to stop as a whistling sound seemed to fill the air, and I turned and time seemed to stop as a dozen balls of fire were launched into the air by weapons that thundered like the heavens themselves, and the last thing I heard before everything went dark was Salem and Jane screaming my name.

….

Salem POV

"LOUISE!" Both Jane and I cry, our voices turning into a single cry. The air was awash with fire and blood; the land was battered and cracked, large black spires of scorched earth had risen out of the violated ground, and bodies were scattered all around the battlefield. The Howitzers had done their jobs a bit too well, but their aim was slightly off. I couldn't see Louise, at least not where I stood. Jane and I ran towards where we had last seen Louise. At first, all I could see was Wardes, the bastard had survived the ordeal, his clothes nearly burnt off, and one of his legs was crushed by a chunk of rock. I looked around and at first all I saw was a bloodied pile; then to my horror, the pile screamed. I ran over to the where the scream came from and then fell to my knees in shock when I saw what remained of Louise de la Valliere was laid out before me.

Her left arm had been snapped off at the elbow, the bones contorted and warped from the heat of the explosions. Her right leg was riddled with holes from shrapnel; the metal having almost fused with her skin, while her left leg had been blasted off completely, the flames had stopped any form of bleeding. Her chest was a different story however, I could see her ribs through cracked and blackened skin, and I could see the hint of purple from her intestines. I could see her heart pumping quickly, but there was something odd about it, there was some kind of magic surrounding it. The shield was black and violent looking; it reminded me of the spirits that follow me around before they take form, minus the screaming. Her right arm was still holding onto her gun, it was probably the only thing was not damaged. I looked at her face; one of her eyes was now milky white, a bloody gash going through her face. The eye that remained was bloodshot and had tears trailing down her face.

I slammed a Stimpack into her chest to heal up the wound, although I knew that all the Stimpacks in the world wouldn't heal her. I looked upon the girl I had begun to see as a daughter broken and bleeding and something snapped.

" _It's Jane all over again. I swore that I would never allow this to happen again! NEVER AGAIN!"_ I saw four spirits slam out of my body, tearing small chunks of my flesh off my body. My mental break gave them enough strength to return in their full strength. A tore off a piece of muscle from my right arm, and began to from a massive human figure before white armour and a massive blade formed into a human being. With a roar, Legate Lanius had returned. He no longer had his mask, allowing me to see his face fully, and it was still as brutal as the last time I saw it; stiches holding the mangled bits of skin and bone together and burns covered the back of his skull. His eyes burned with hatred towards me, but he charged into the remaining Reconquestia soldiers, roaring and laughing as he did so. I could see his massive Bumper Sword cleaving into the soldiers, limbs and entrails were flying through the air as he did his deadly work.

Another ripped a piece from my back and formed a being I had not seen for a long while. The form solidified into a man with hair braided into dreadlocks and tanned skin stood up, a breathing mask on his face. A long coat with the American Flag was on his back, a large staff with a gold eagle on the tip now stood behind me. Ulysses, my old enemy had returned to cause chaos once more. He glared at me, the bottom of his face hidden from view thanks to the breathing mask. He raised his submachine gun and began peppering the enemy with bullets before charging into the ranks with Old Glory, his staff. I could hear screams of pain and surprise from his flash bangs doing their work before he ended them.

The third stole a bit from my side and began to form a familiar blond cowering fop; Guiche de Gramont. He looked at me in horror and surprise be standing to his feet. He looked around and yelped when a spearman charged him, he summoned a Bronze Valkyrie that was armed with a Morningstar and shield which proceeded to bludgeon the man to beat the man to death, his screams soon being replaced with the wet cracks and crunches I have come to relate to the sound of a brain being crushed. The blond coward hid behind a pile of shattered earth summoned more and more Bronze Valkyries to do his bidding. I noticed that the metal beings looked different, more sinister and brutal then I remembered than before. Their weapons were now made for killing over show.

I would have watched more but I felt the last one rip out of my chest with a roar. A dirty looking man wearing Raider armour and a deer skull for a helmet flew onto the ground. In his hands was chainsaw, and he whirled around, swear words spewing out of his mouth. Motor-Runner, leader of the of Fiends of Vault 3 looked at me, a look of hate on his face before jamming a syringe of Pyscho into his arm and ran howling into the enemy army, the roar of his chainsaw being easily heard. I could hear his insane cackling as he butchered the zealots, and the only thing I could think was that it was a good thing Motor Runner was the only Fiend boss that had come back, if it was any of the other ones, we'd have a big problem on out hands.

I heard Jane gasp upon seeing Louise's wounds. Jane looked at the Howitzers and their crews, and I saw her face turn into something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. The face I had seen many times and kissed many more had twisted into a mask of hate and pain, it was a raider's wet dream of a face. Veins were popping out of her face; her teeth were grinding against each other, and her hands were holding the Shishkebab in a death grip. Tears were spilling down her face and her breathing was fast. She knelt down to Louise and kissed her forehead.

"It'll be ok, you hear me? You'll get out of this one and you're going to see Henrietta again." She said, her voice breaking slightly. She got back and up marched towards the Howitzers, absolute murder on her face. I turned back to Louise, and to my shock she spoke, blood leaking out of her mouth.  
"Stand me up. I will kill Wardes" She said simply, her voice broken and cracked from her injuries. Helping her up, with me being her crutch she hopped to where Wardes was starting to regain his wits. She fired a shot into his leg, causing to scream and blot upright, his right leg being caught in the rubble. Louise sneered, her mouth leaking blood, and without a word, she fired another bullet into his trapped leg.

"Shut up you pompous windbag" she snarled and then proceeded to unload the revolver into non-vital areas, making sure that he stayed alive for his torment. As she reloaded and proceeded to fire into his hand and shoulder; I saw something spark in her eyes. It matched the black energy that was keeping her alive; I don't know anything about magic, but I had a gut feeling that magic was the one thing that was allowing her to get up after her the Howitzers. She dropped the Magnum; all her bullets were spent on Wardes. The once proud noble was now bleeding from all over but Louise looked at injuries and scowled, more blood coming through her mouth.

"You did this to me, you called those damned machines at me…I'll cause just as much pain onto you!" She screamed that last bit, and with a howl, her still intact hand glowed with the black energy and she punched through the noble's chest with a wet tearing noise and tore his still beating heart out of his chest. Blood spewed from the now gaping chest cavity, and the traitorous noble died, his body convulsing as more blood poured from his wound. Louise looked me in the eye before collapsing, the last of her energy spent; I put another Stimpack into her just to be safe. I heard screaming and explosions, and turning towards the sound, I saw the Howitzers exploding, their crews flying in the air. Through the fire and smoke, I saw Jane strut back towards me, her face not as angry as before, but still angry and cruel. We looked at each other and we knew we had to get her back to the Estate; the lab downstairs would be able to save her life. I looked around and saw that the Enclave forces, well what remained were pulling out.

Holding Louise in my arms, I watched as Lanius marched off into the ruins of NewCastle, while Motor-Runner had followed the Legate. Ulysses and Guiche followed me towards a battered carriage that we had commandeered from a Reconquestia solider. Our party, increased by two climbed into the battered carriage and we had set off. Oddly, Ulysses and Guiche were not fading away, they were alive again; I could only think that Lanius and Motor-Runner were alive again as well.

" _So I have a drug fueled maniac and a blood thirsty tyrant out on the loose, I'll have to deal with them later, I have to get Louise help and fast, Nothing else matters."_ I think to myself, cracking the horse's reins, I began the long race home, hoping that against all odds that Louise will make it through it, either way, someone is going to pay for this, of that I am sure, someone is going to die quite painfully; For Louise, for vengeance, and for my own satisfaction, someone is going to die.

….

And that's this chapter finished up!

This will be the last thing I'll be uploading until after I graduate, finals and provincials suck something awful; anyone who is in the later years of high school can attest to that.

Any feedback, please PM me, leave a review all that jazz.

And as always, stay classy, stay awesome, and have a lovely day!


	7. Sorry

I'm sorry everyone, but this story will be taking a small hiatus as I am currently in between jobs.

I will be focusing in on Da Orks are Ere and Of Dancers and Pilgrims for the foreseeable future.

Sorry for the long wait for any form of updates


	8. Haunting Truth

Hello everyone Thanks so much for staying with me for this long; it means a lot to me.

Louise's Mind POV

It's strange, to be trapped inside my own head; I've stories of lunatics being trapped in rooms as they dissolve further and further into insanity, or people being left alone for fear of contracting an illness, and other stories such as these. But to be trapped inside my own head, where my fears lurk is an experience I would not wish on anyone, not even that buxom wench Zerbst or the bastard Wardes. My fears, hopes and dreams made themselves known here, showing me the best and the worst my mind has to offer. But after a while of walking through my own mind, I felt that something was following; it was always out of sight, just out of the corner of my eyes. It seemed that my bond to Salem thanks to the Familiar Rune was influencing my mental landscape; what was originally my room back at my family's estate became a white room with strange machines humming nonstop.

A large table sat next to a bar, and the smells of food drew me to the table; I stopped when I saw that the table was already occupied. While there were two people sitting next to each other at the table, there were three seats at the table, almost like they were expecting me. I could see their faces, but their specific features were impossible to make out, so I had hazy ideas of what they looked like.

The man was tall, but not inhumanly so; his suit had bullet holes and burn marks on it. Despite the marks of war on his clothes, the man smiled happily at me, showing light scarring on his fair features. Short black hair with streaks of grey was cut in a simple style that was for practical reasons over style. The woman was beautiful with shoulder length red hair, fair skin and green eyes. She was wearing a strange outfit that looked like a jumpsuit with armour covering vital areas; the two of them lifted glasses and drank what looked like wine.

"I was wondering when you'd get here" The man said, a warm smile on his face as he gestured to the empty chair. As I sat down, he cut into a piece of meat and served to me, smiling happily all the while. The woman poured me a glass of water "We can't have you drinking can we?" She said with a motherly look on her face as she winked at me. As we ate, I became lost in the food; it was amazing, better than anything I had back home. After the food was put away, they looked at me.

"So, what will you do now Louise? Will you pass on, or will you fight?" The woman said with an inquisitive look on her face. The man spoke up before I could answer. "Your former classmates think you to be a failure; your parents would have sold you off for cash. Only your Familiar and his allies have stood up for you. My advice is to fight, if not for you, then for them." His face had a serious look to it now, his smile replaced by a look of simple truth. I looked at the beings in front of me, lost in my thoughts; but as I did so, the room became warped, the white room beginning to show signs of decay and recent violence.

"Well, would you look at that?" the man said, holding a dirty pocket watch in his hand. "You're dying" He had a subdued look of surprise on his face, like he was used to death but he still hated to see it happen.

"You have to make a choice sweetie" The woman said, her face holding parental concern for me. I looked around in a panic as I began to feel cold, the room becoming rotted and stripped to its basic foundations, the once grand building now reduced to a crumbling ruin.

"I choose to live, Salem made the same choice, and he became a king, Jane made that choice, and she is a conqueror; I will live, if only to kill those who have done this to me. I will pay any price for my life, nothing is too high" As soon as I say that, the people at the table grin with a hint of sadness in their smiles. "Very well, that is your choice."

I felt the presence appear behind me again, and as I looked behind me, I felt my body freeze up at the being in front of me; for it was me. Well, who I was before all this began, with my uniform freshly washed, eyes bright and cheerful. She walked towards the two people at the table, apparently not being able to see me, that or I/she didn't acknowledge me. The two people stood up, and my eyes widened as their features cleared so I could clearly see them for the first time; I know why they looked so familiar now, for they were Salem and Jane. It was them, at least it was what they could have been should their lives had not become a living Hell.

"Very well then, it seems we have what we came for" This version of Salem said, his voice heavy with a mixture of grudging respect and sadness. With a flash the three of them vanished, and with them I felt something leave me, a sense of fear mixed with anticipation. I felt myself beginning to wake up, the mental world around me cracking and breaking apart until the last thing I remember is the feeling of fire, shattering bones and agony that could only be quenched by oblivion.

...

Salem POV

Thorn Estate (formally Gramont Estate)

"Move it!" I heard Jane bark, her eyes burning as I carried Louise's broken form behind her. She was leading me at a breakneck speed towards the dungeons, where she had apparently set up shop for her experiments. As she threw the door open, I paused for a moment before continuing my run; if this was a different time, I would have been very impressed with how much Jane had accomplished. There an Auto-Doc that had been jury-rigged into working, harvesting the corpses from my attack on the estate, fetid organs and intestines were in jars and on bloody operating tables, along with some lumps of flesh that could have once been considered a human being, although just barely. In the far side of the room were the cages that held the still living captives, there were four cages but only two of them were occupied; one held the corpulent form of Count Mott, while the other held the defiant woman Foquet.

"Kirche! Tabitha! Get your asses out here!" Jane roared, and out of the darkened corners of the dungeon came two familiar faces. Kirche had a slave collar around her neck, along with small pieces of her hair missing, replaced by very subtle stitches from recent surgery. The blue haired mute known as Tabitha shuffled to the forefront, sporting the same collar and cuts.

"Get me the Auto Doc out here, along with what remains of the Med X and Stimpacks I managed to make. Go!" Jane screamed, her voice sounding like a hot nail being sent into my brain. As I looked around, an idea came into being, a twisted and cruel idea; but an idea nonetheless.

"Jane, I need to use Mott" I said, to which Jane paused for a moment before she came to the same conclusion that I had, allowing an evil grin to sprout across her face.

"Same blood type, around the same head size...that could work" I hear Jane mutter under her breath as her walked over to Mott's cage, yanking the Noble to the nearest operating table. Said operating table was full of what used to be the one of the Guards of the Mott Estate which Jane simply threw the rotten carcass off the table where it landed with a sickeningly wet squish.  
"Now Mott, it seems you've been chosen to further science along with the life of Louise Valliere; so smile you rotten bastard, for you'll finally be doing something worth of note with your miserable life." I hear Jane sneer into the blubbering Count's face as she strapped the man down to the table and her two newly minted assistants handed her tools to begin the operation. Partly due to Jane's inherent cruelty and partly due to necessity; the Count would be kept completely aware of all that would be happening to him without the use of painkillers.

I left the lab and departed for the grand rooms above to prepare for my guests, be they the foreign dignitaries or the parents of Louise Valliere; I must prepare. As I began making preparations, I saw many armed women patrolling the grounds of the Estate, manning (or was it womanning in this case?) the walls, with muskets pointed towards the outside world. Conrad was talking with a blonde haired woman, and even though he easily towered over the armoured woman the giant seemed to be nervous. His dark skin was covered in tattoos and scars, his plate armour would protect him from most magic; but as I got close enough to see his eyes, they were the eyes of a man who knows when to shut up and assume the position.

She finished her conversation before making a beeline towards me; the Royal Crest on her chest and a musket on her hands. She looked at me the way I remembered how the veteran soldiers of the NCR would; tactically accessing me, trying to find my weak points. I grinned as I did the same to her, and was impressed by the woman who stood before me, her eyes burned with determination and vigor. "So you're the man in charge of this estate?" the blonde haired woman asked, her eyes showing hints of disgust along with surprise as she spoke to me.

"Yes I am milady" I said sarcastically, mockingly bowing to her; and chuckling silently as I saw her eyes twitch slightly at my lack of respect. She introduced herself as Agnes Chevalier; the captain of the Royal Musketeers, and the bodyguards and personal soldiers of the Princess. I left the women to their martial duties, as I had other things to attend to. Mainly getting rid of anything too grisly for anyone important coming to visit; first impressions are everything after all. This task took around four hours, although I think I took that long to keep my mind off Louise.

I made my way back to the lab to find that Jane had stepped out of the lab/dungeon, her dress had been exchanged for an old lab coat; said coat was covered in blood and medical fluids. She looked at me with a tired expression on her face. "Louise is stabilizing, although her condition will leave her comatose for quite a long time. Using Mott's blood, bones and brain matter is proving to be a good decision; as once they were introduced to Louise's body, she had begun to heal…magic sure is something" my fellow warlord chuckled to herself. I saw her eyes wander to a certain blond haired buffoon as he walked past us in the hall; he looked at us nervously as he did so, trying to not run away as Jane's eyes fixed on him.

I gulped as I heard Jane purr to herself as she muttered under her breath, her eyes beginning to get a sadistic look to them as she continued to look at Guiche. "Good height, weight could be worked on…face could be worked on…" Her voice trailed off, and I began mentally making notes to make sure Guiche is never alone with Jane, as she would only take an interest in him for a particular experiment that she's been perfecting for quite a long time. I shudder as I remember the last time she had performed it, although it was a brilliant success, it took a long time to get right, as her…"modifications" of her captured victims were quite appealing to the Slavers of Paradise Falls and Cachino's Gomorrah, as whores were always in extremely high demand; especially those that were barely human beings. It was a business venture I had only agreed to take part in because the caps it would bring in would pay for itself quickly; after all, sex is always a good selling point in the Wasteland.

I shook myself out of my thoughts as I remembered why I had come down here in the first place for. "Louise's recovery is only going this well thanks to magic; how long her magic will hold out is beyond me; I could tell how you how long a brain lasts after the rest of the body dies, how to keep a heart pumping with nothing more than a battery; but magic is something I have no experience in." I grumble out an agreement as several guards march past, muttering to each other; their grips on their matchlocks tight. Tensions were already beginning to rise in the Estate as many of my grunts hated the idea of Royalist troops being present nearby, especially the Royal Musketeers; many of them had lost a friend to one of those gunwomen, so the fact that they now have to work together had a horribly ironic twist to it all. Something had to give, that or the mob of rebels and killers had to blow off some steam.

As I pondered this, Henrietta approached me, Agnes and several Royal Musketeers surrounding her, their weapons at the ready. The Princess's normally friendly face was warped into a mask of fear, despair and anger.

"What happened?" She said, almost spitting out the words, her formal demeanor vanishing in the wake of her emotions becoming the driving force in her body.

"She's stabilizing for the moment, but I can't let you go down there right now your Highness. It's not safe-

"I don't care, either you let me in voluntarily or I'll force my way in." Henrietta said, cutting me off; her eyes burning with a frenzied focus that made me realize that even if I managed to fight her off, I would have to kill her. She wouldn't back down, so sighing, I motioned to Jane to allow the Princess into her lab; no one else was allowed in.

The Monarch to be crinkled her nose in disgust as the smells of blood and medical supplies wafted up the stairs as she made her way down to the main lab. Luckily for us, Jane had moved the more grisly of her experiments, leaving Louise on the only experiment table left; the one not covered in blood stains. Henrietta gasped as soon as Louise's form could be seen; I grimaced slightly at the sight as well, although for different reasons. Louise's body now had all of her limbs attached, and the majority of her outward injuries had been patched up thanks to the unwilling donation of the former Count Mott. The dead eye had been replaced by Mott's brown eye; making Louise has her original Pink eye and one brown eye. Luckily for Henrietta, the rest of the pint sixed pinkette was healing up nicely.

"What happened?" was Henrietta's only question as she stared down at the comatose form of Louise, the sounds of medical machines beeping and humming breaking the heavy silence that followed the Princess's question.

I explained everything; the Siege, the betrayal of Wardes, and the Howitzers that had done the damage to Louise. Henrietta handled this news about as calmly as a Raider on Pyscho, meaning she was absolutely enraged; her teeth grinding together in a display of a surprising amount of restraint holding back some extremely creative curses; much to my hidden amusement.

"So, this Reconquestia wants a war? I'll give them one! I know that several minor Noble houses have at least one tie to them; but I cannot do anything as they hold too much power when working together. I hate to ask, but I'll need you to do my dirty work again; I cannot be seen executing these Nobles, as many of them have friends in the Royal Army."

I grinned, a plan already beginning to form "Say no more your Highness, you want these minor houses cleaned out consider it done, the lads were starting to get restless anyways." I chuckle darkly.

"I'll stay here and look after Louise" Jane said, her eyes burning in determination as she readied herself for the medical warfare she has resigned herself to. Pushing the doors of the lab open, I begin barking orders to the troops, with cheers being the answer to my call to battle. Even as I entered the courtyard, I saw catapults being pulled along by teams of horses, regiments of Arquebusiers readying their crude guns for battle. Mobs of killers were being shouted into rank and file infantry by the ebony giant Conrad, his burning eyes and sheer size silenced any who would had otherwise protested.

Our target was a large castle, filled with professional soldiers and mercenaries alike; it won't be as easy as Mott's Estate either. Most of the soldiers had been in at least one of the many wars fought between Nobles for whatever reasons those pompous assholes could come up with. I began ordering some plainclothes soldiers to act as scouts to see what they could find out about the defenses; many were former pickpockets and thieves to begin with, so discretion was a skill most had perfected. As my banner was raised over the forces assembled, I began to chuckle to myself; I had no intention of staying loyal to "Her Majesty". She was no leader, a mere pampered child had no chance of truly ruling anything; she would be effectively powerless as her advisors would have most if not all of the power. She reminds me way too much of the NCR, being hindered by having to rely of other people to get shit done. Much easier to do it yourself, and rely on your underlings to do what you tell them; in my case, having robots doing your will certainly took out the human problem; sadly I cannot use that here…not yet anyways. Her Majesty will have to be dealt with sooner or later, either by making her a puppet ruler, or having her suffer a fatal and unfortunate accident; it'll be interesting to see if nothing else…

…

3rd Person POV

The grand halls of the Thorn Estate shone with the decadence of medieval royalty, gilded arches and fine paintings covered the walls; although many of said paintings had been vandalized or outright desecrated by the rebellious forces of Salem Thorn. Such grandeur was completely unthinkable in the blasted hellscape of the Capital Wasteland that Jane was born into, but alas, her mind was focused on different things…far more carnal things. A almost feral grin was on her face as she stalked the halls for her prey; it had been quite a while since she had truly tested her skills with the scalpel in her opinion. Louise was a minor distraction to her; if she died, it would be extremely disappointing; but in the end her plans changed very little.

If she could twist Henrietta to her will, then the game of politics suddenly becomes a lot easier for the two warlords. But the monarch to be was not the crimson haired despot's target; no her sights were set on a certain blonde haired coward. She seemed to have a certain fascination towards the young nobleman, twisted as it was; her eye as a warlord alongside a sadistic surgeon. As she thought up many deviant ways she could change the former Nobleman, her ears caught a strange noise; the firing of black powder muskets. Her hedonistic task forgotten, she rushed outside to see something that stopped her dead in her tracks; a horde of filthy and roaring men and women had amassed outside the walls and were currently throwing themselves at said walls. "Fiends" the crimson haired warlord muttered under her breath. "That explains who were being held in those cages at Newcastle, Heretics indeed" a harsh chuckle came out from behind her plump lips as she walked into the courtyard, her Shishkebab at the ready. As she got closer, her eyes were drawn to what almost always catches her attention: the female posterior; not just a single one however, there was a small army of them! All dressed in uniforms of the Royal Musketeers; and the warlord felt her breath quicken even as she made her way up the steps to the walls. Only the Musketeers and Jane herself was left to defend the Estate, as Salem and his army had left for their mission.

The Fiends that had amassed outside the walls had all the signs of hastily arriving, they had only small arms which they were using to their usual degree of skill; meaning none whatsoever. They had several crudely made ladders being forced up to scale the stone walls of the Thorn Estate; vulgarities stained the air as the drug crazed rapists, killers and slavers threw themselves with the abandon only someone out of their mind can achieve; at the walls of the Estate. Jane walked up behind the defender in charge of it all; Agnes Chevalier. As the blonde haired woman paused for a moment to stare at the woman clad in nothing more than a red dress against blood thirsty maniacs; one of the before mentioned maniacs launched himself over the wall.

"Gonna fucking Kill you- was all he managed to roar out before the flaming blade of Jane's Shishkebab plunged into the man's neck, severing the head from his shoulders and sending the headless corpse falling back into the moat. Grabbing a musket out of the dead hands of a Musketeer, the warlord began to fire alongside the other women.

"Incoming!" one of the Musketeers yelled as a boulder was hurtling towards the castle walls, crushing and killing the woman instantly. More boulders quickly followed, causing the previously hit stone walls which were already damaged in Salem's original assault to crumble. As the Musketeers abandoned the walls, Jane hurled herself down into the mass of screaming lunatics; much to the horror of Agnes and her Royal Musketeers. All they heard was a half mad cackle as the warlord plummeted down into the Fiends, followed by screaming and blood.

…

Jane POV

As I fell down the sheer drop into the corpse filled moat below; I began to chuckle to myself. Life has a truly peculiar way of putting things into perspective; here I was; jumping off of a medieval era castle to fight a bunch of drugged out madmen. In a way, I can see why Salem often drinks; it makes much more sense once alcohol is involved. On the other hand, the last time I was drunk I made a twelve inch double ended dildo which I proceeded to bugger him into unconsciousness…so I'm sure he doesn't want me drunk again.

My chuckle turned into a full out laugh, one of madness that drew the attention of all Fiends nearby; turning my landing into a full on slug fest. As small groups of the leering degenerates threw themselves at me, I smirked as I danced through their paltry defenses, slashing and hacking through flesh and bone as easily as butter.

"Outta the way ya fucking morons!" A man bellowed as he pushed his way through his fellows, alive and dead alike until he was standing in front of me. Unlike the others, he was properly with something akin to combat armour; although it was pitted and covered in what I hope (but sadly is probably not) just dirt and mud. In his hands was a crude weapon to befit the brute; a Bumper Sword. It may be crude, but it wouldn't take much for that blade to end anyone unarmoured that gets caught in its' arc.

In a surprising amount of discipline from the thug, he said nothing; no taunts, no expletives being hurled at me, nothing but silence. As he got closer, I began to see scars and torn skin that showed all the signs of torture; after all, I've inflicted similar wounds myself. He growled, spitting on the ground next to him, showing black and broken teeth as he began to lumber forwards, his bloodshot and yellowed eyes trained completely on me.

I didn't bother waiting for the brute to begin his attack; I had other things to take care of after all. If I could just get a sample from that man's brain…

I lunged forwards, flipping over the Fiend before he could even swing his blade, slashing at his back before twisting away as the Fiend roared in equal measure pain and rage. Charging towards me, the Fiend began to cackle as he made his way towards me, crushing any of his fellows underfoot that got caught in his path.

A volley of musket fire crashes into him, staggering the man slightly; slightly is all I need. Shooting forwards, I stabbed my blade downwards, starting by piercing the kneecap and splitting his right leg bone straight down to pinning his foot to the muddy ground. His howl of agony made me smile as I drew my scalpel from the folds of my dress; slitting his left wrist to…discourage any further aggression towards me. His Bumper Sword now lying next to him, the raider tried to stand, only to collapse back down, the Shishkabab the only thing keeping him from outright collapsing. I see out of the corner of my eye the Royal Musketeers marching out of the shattered wall, the bodies of dead Fiends scattered all around them; their lack of skill and firearms showing as the small but highly trained group of armed women began to cut their way through the blood thirsty mob.

My attention however was focused on the man in front of me; despite his horrific wounds, the man was simply staring at me; his useless left arm at his side while the right was clutched to his chest. As I leaned in closer to see what he was clutching, my breath hitched when saw a very hated and familiar symbol on his chest. Twelve stars surrounded a capital E with three lines replacing the middle line; it was the symbol of the Enclave. I heard a soft beeping noise that quickly began to pick up speed and the last thing I saw of the Raider was his eyes; bloodshot and yellowed, they held equal parts pride and madness. With his right hand he mockingly gave me the Enclave salute; and then he burst into fire; his flesh blasting outwards in a maelstrom of fire and ash.

That wasn't the only explosion however, as the rest of the surviving Fiends began to curse and swear as loud beeps starting to sound from them as well, followed by the consequential detonations. The only things left from my victim were his Bumper Sword and my Shishkebab; the rest of him was reduced to nothing more than blacked shards. I glare at what used to be a human being and crush said shards under my heel. Looking around, I saw that the outer defences of the castle had been destroyed by the utterly crude catapult the formerly alive Fiends; if Fiends they were, had built. They clearly had been sent by whoever had control over this Reconquista; and judging by the obvious symbols everywhere, that would be the Enclave. How long have they been here? And a better question is why?

My eyes looked down to the plethora of blackened bones and I scowled as no reasonable answers came to mind; from what we have already seen, the Enclave has influence if not outright control over this Reconquista; meaning they have unknown amounts of resources and troops; albeit inferior by themselves due to their pathetic level of technology; you don't need to be advanced to murder someone.

I walk back to the courtyard, ordering the wounded Musketeers to be taken down to my lab where they could receive actual medical treatment; and if one or two of the musketeers were to "accidentally" die on the table…well, that just leaves more samples for me.

…

3rd Person POV

Bellsover Hold

The towering citadel known to Tristian was Bellsover Hold was always held in distain by the upper cusp of society due to its less than honourable reputation. From homicide to acts of unnameable perversity; the castle and its inhabitants were hated by even the more depraved nobles such as the late Count Mott; but the final nail on the social coffin was their politics. Bellsover House all but waved the flag of the Reconquista in the face of Royalist families and their armies; their fanaticism to the Church of Brimir and its' more blood thirsty side made them have few allies and fewer friends among their fellows; as such, none would really have missed them should someone attack them; least of all the mysterious but bloody "Noble" residing in the former Gramont Estate. Whispers had begun to fly far before the madman's arrival, tales of cannibalism and of brutality not seen before…they were partly right.

Bellsover Hold has stood defiant against all who had attacked it, be it the Ba'alrazim from the East, the Valkovians from the far north or fellow Nobles, its' bloodied defenders had stood tall…that would end today.

The armies of Salem Thorn had arrayed themselves to surround the impressive stone walls, their siege weapons being readied, the murderers, and heretics being numerous but ill prepared overall for the cruel realities of a medieval siege. Salem Thorn had little patience for such things, but could not use his own weapons; he had to pretend, at least for now, that he was no different than the other Noble Houses. To aid this illusion, the Ghoul of Vegas had donned a simple set of plate armour, his heavily augmented flesh being more then capable to withstand the weight. In his hand was a simple longsword in appearance, yet it was here that his technology could be used. It held an electric current that would fry any who it cut. A Iron shield was on his other arm, covered by an grisly sheet made out of tanned human skin, a distorted face pulled out from the middle. The Mad King of Vegas stared out at his future prize and began to laugh, the echoing sound sending fear into the grizzled men's hearts like they had never known before. With a simple nod from the seven foot tall warlord, the boulders began to fly, their deadly payload delivering death and dismemberment as it crashed down into the stone walls.

Archers and musketeers fired into the mass of screaming men and women; their faces set in grim determination as the lesser mercenaries were cut down by the rogue Mages of the army of Thorn; the stench of cooked flesh was soon wafting into the air as more and more dead men began falling on both sides. Ladders were raised and men began the climb even as arrows and hot oil assaulted them; they were driven by duel parts unending hatred towards their enemies alongside the mind numbing fear of what was behind them.

Terror began to consume the lesser willed men on the walls as Salem Thorn took to the field, his bodyguard of half mad Knights being bought with conquest of flesh and blood. The Heavy Calvary began running up and down the invaders lines, screaming war cries and expletives alike to urge the killers forwards. A ragged cheer erupted from the front lines as a battering ram finally reached its destination; more modern trickery followed however, as the medieval siege weapon had within itself explosives of the plastic variety; sending all around into screaming oblivion as the explosion sent all staggering away and shielding their eyes from the source of their momentary distraction. A moment was all that was needed, as the thundering of the Heavy Calvary blasted through the shredded wood gate, powdered stone and half burnt corpses; the screams of horses and men alike fell on the heavily clad warriors as they slew whoever was left alive inside the courtyard.

As the defenders began to fall back, the last things they saw from the outside were the remains of their friends being roasted over a fire to be devoured by the man they knew to be Salem Thorn. With the cooked flesh of his fellow man now filling his belly, the defenders began to pale and back away from the closing gates to the inner hall as the single bloodshot eye of the Ruler of the Mojave was looking right at them…and he was smiling.

….

Here's a bit of a shorter chapter, I'm sorry it's taken me what's probably been at least a year by this point to get something out; I won't waste either of our time with excuses, all save one. I'm working full time as a landscaper, so my time is strained to give an understatement. I hope you can stick with me as I have huge plans for this story…on that you can count.


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